He Who Calls
by Dannrose
Summary: Snotlout tries hard to please his father, to be the son he wants, but he also had a mother, a mother who kept secrets. When unusual events start to occur on Berk, Snotlout finds himself secretly working to handle them while continuing to be a Dragon Rider. For he is about to discover he has a rare gift...summoning.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to yet another story spawned by a plot bunny I could not get rid of. This is an AU set during Riders/Defenders of Berk and, as always with me, it's Snotlout centric. This fic does borrow heavily from the Final Fantasy games but the aspects I'm using originally came from mythology anyway, I'm not using any main characters or plotlines from the games at all. I hope you all enjoy the first chapter.**_

 _ **I do not own any aspect of How to Train Your Dragon or what I use from Final Fantasy.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Snotlout carefully removed his bracers, then paused when he saw the pattern on his right arm.

It had been there for as long as he could remember, a tattoo that had never been inked, and it had puzzled him for so long. His mother had told him it was special, an indication of a rare gift that he had, however, she also told him to keep it hidden, even from his father. She never gave him a reason why, never explained why it was special, but he still kept it secret. His mother had been wise and if she said it was best to be kept hidden then he would obey, despite the fact she was dead.

He lightly traced the pattern with his finger, as he often had before, wondering what it was, what it meant. As always, he found no answers and he soon gave up, continuing with preparing for bed.

It had been a long day at dragon training and Hookfang had been particularly stubborn. The Nightmare seemed to go out of his way to make things difficult for him that day and he'd lost track of the number of times the dragon had smacked him about. His father hadn't made things any better and had been far pushier than normal, trying to convince him to challenge Hiccup for leadership of the Dragon Riders. The man had seemingly become obsessed with making him be the best ever since Thawfest. Okay, he'd almost lost but he'd managed to pull it back in the end (even though he was sure Hiccup threw the race), wasn't that good enough?

He sighed.

Of course it wasn't, his father expected nothing but perfection, even if his idea of perfection was radically different from everyone else's. It was as if his dad wanted him to somehow achieve everything he hadn't in his youth, magically become head and shoulders above the entirety of Berk and outshine everyone.

Did he care that it was basically impossible? Not at all. Did he think about whether it was what Snotlout himself wanted or not? Of course not!

The teen moodily tossed his bracers aside.

Uphold the Jorgenson name, that was everything he was to strive for, never mind that the things the clan held in high esteem were not so favoured by the village. They were Jorgensons, why should they care?

All in all, he found it rather…hollow.

Regardless, he still pressed on, still strived to do everything he was asked. Be the best, be a Jorgenson, a son worthy of the burden placed upon him by his clan, a paragon of everything Jorgensons were and make his father proud!

He glanced at the pattern on his arm again.

But would it make his mother proud?

With another sigh, he flopped into bed and turned onto his side, abandoning his bed cover. It had been strangely warm recently, reaching temperatures they didn't get even in the height of summer, and he'd long since stopped needing his bedsheets.

Pushing his musings aside he closed his eyes. Tomorrow was another day and Hiccup had already declared an early start (he was sure his cousin was doing this on purpose), he'd need all the sleep he could get. He drifted off into slumber, the name his mother had given for the pattern on his arm echoing round his mind.

Shiva.

* * *

Behind Berk, in the depths of one of its caves, a bright glow illuminated a vast cavern.

The cavern was a recent creation, carved out by the bubbling lava that had sprung into being. An intense heat permeated the entire space, spilling out of the cave and heating Berk, creating its unnatural warmth. Not even dragons could withstand the heat in the cavern and a human would be roasted in seconds.

However, something still resided there.

In a ring of rock, surrounded by lava, an immense column of flame burst forth. A mighty hand sprung from within and clenched into a massive fist as a pair of horns protruded briefly from the flames.

The hand retreated and a bellowing roar shook the cavern. If anyone had been there to hear it, they might've realised that it wasn't a roar of anger or triumph, but one of pain. The flames subsided and the cavern settled once more.

Waiting.

* * *

 _ **PS-As you may all have guessed, I'm taking the summon creatures from Final Fantasy and placing them in the HTTYD verse. See if you can guess which one is lurking in the cave? Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and here is the second chapter. Things start to kick off this chapter as two characters make their appearance. Thank you those who've favourited, reviewed and followed this story so far and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Snotlout sat in the arena, largely daydreaming as Hiccup waffled on about something or other.

He'd thought his cousin had wanted them all there early so as to do some sort of long flight or training exercise, not sit around and listen to him lecture them. He may complain furiously about Hiccup's training exercises but he freely admitted they were far more interesting than running over the theory and the Book of Dragons for the umpteenth time.

Personally, he thought they discovered more about dragons by going out and actually finding them, the amount of times the book had been wrong or had missing information was so ridiculously often, they might as well burn the thing and start from scratch. Then, Fishlegs could entertain himself by writing it and not look down upon him all the time because he didn't know every stupid dragon fact there was!

He really couldn't be bothered with this.

Yawning very conspicuously, he waited for his cousin to notice and respond, hopefully helping to relieve some of his boredom at the same time. He was surprised when Hiccup didn't react to his blatant display of lack of interest and he looked at the other teen in confusion.

Hiccup had actually stopped talking and was simply stood there, wiping his forehead with his hand and slightly swaying.

"What's up fishbone, are you about to faint?"

He'd said the words mockingly, hoping that his cousin would roll his eyes and give a sarcastic retort as he usually did, but instead, the boy frowned, "It's just really hot."

Snotlout scoffed, "C'mon, it's not that hot!"

"Seriously Snotlout, can't you feel it?"

He glanced at Astrid, realising that she was also wiping her head, her face flushed red. He looked around at the others, seeing them all reacting similarly. Fishlegs was even more flushed than Astrid and he was frantically fanning himself with one of his many books while the twins had taken shelter under Barf and Belch's wings, hiding in the shade. Ruffnut was lying on her front as she also spoke, "Okay, I know I say that Berk could stand to be warmer occasionally but this is ridiculous!"

Tuffnut was sat up, flapping his hand to try and send cool air into his face, "I know, it's like sitting in a sauna, or a volcano, or maybe a volcano sauna! Like a saucano or a volna!"

Hiccup had sat down, Toothless shading him with his wings, and he frowned at Snotlout, "You honestly don't feel how hot it is?"

Snotlout shrugged, yeah it was warmer than Berk usually was and he had shed his outer fur vest, but it wasn't so warm it was affecting him the way it was the others, "Not at all." He smirked, "I'm the real Viking after all, a little heat is nothing for me, unlike you wimps."

The fact that no one responded to his jibe told him there was a serious issue and worry flashed through him. He studied Hiccup's features carefully and saw that he was flushed from the heat like the others and was sweating as much. Looking around revealed that it wasn't just the teens, even the dragons seemed to be feeling the heat and that was a major problem. If creatures with fireproof skin that breathed flames were too hot, then it was seriously warm!

"Hiccup!"

Stoick's voice came from the entrance and Snotlout turned to see him walking their way.

Even the chief was showing the effects of the high temperature, he was as red as the others and would continuously rub his arm across his forehead to wipe away the sweat. Hiccup slowly looked up at his father, "Dad?"

"We're moving everyone down to the north beach." Stoick stated, "Its shaded from the sun and the water is cold, we're using it to cool ourselves off in this heat."

Hiccup nodded, "Okay, we'll make our way there as well."

His father smiled, "Good." He glanced up at the sky, "Hopefully this heat will die down as we get closer to nightfall." He frowned, "I've never known Berk to ever be this hot before."

* * *

The north beach was packed with Vikings trying to avoid the heat and many were submerging themselves in the ocean to cool off. Most of the teens had immediately gone to join them but Snotlout sat on an outcrop of rocks watching.

He still didn't feel as hot as everyone else but he didn't understand why. Even Hookfang, a Stoker Class dragon, was in the sea to escape the heat but he wasn't bothered. It was hot but the heat wasn't that much different from sitting close to the fire, why was everyone else so much hotter?

 _Help…_

Snotlout nearly fell off the rocks in surprise, who was that? He glanced around but there was no sign of anyone needing help. Perhaps he'd been hearing things.

 _It burns…!_

He looked around again, he'd definitely heard that! Where was it coming from? Frowning, he checked the area carefully, thinking it could be the twins trying to prank him. He then spotted them both trying to drown each other in the sea some distance off so it certainly wasn't them.

 _Burning…!_

It was louder this time and he fixed his eyes towards the mountain. He was sure the voice had come from that way and something in him really wanted to find out what it was. Slowly, he slipped off the rocks and padded up the beach, his departure going unnoticed by the Vikings of Berk. He entered the forest and wandered through the trees, some instinct pulling him on.

 _Help me…!_

His pace quickened and he hurried onwards, the pull getting stronger the further he went. He had no idea what he was doing and in other circumstances, he'd probably turn and run the opposite way. This time however, he couldn't ignore the voice and he wasn't even considering how dangerous what he was doing was.

His path brought him to a cave that ran down deep into the mountain and he could feel the heat pouring out. He didn't know why, but he was certain that this was where the unnatural heat all over Berk was coming from. He hesitated at the cave mouth, whatever was calling out and whatever was causing the heat was inside, he had no idea what lay within and he considered turning back and telling the chief about what he'd found.

 _I can't stand it! Help me, PLEASE!_

Without a second thought, Snotlout ran into the cave.

* * *

It was definitely much hotter inside the cave and Snotlout could feel himself sweating buckets.

Regardless, he kept going, the strange pull taking him onwards as the tunnel wound down and down into the mountain. An odd glow permeated the stone, lighting everything with a dull red colour, and while he had no idea how it was happening, he was glad it was since he had no torch.

Eventually, the tunnel levelled out and widened as the glow increased. Snotlout's pace slowed and he tentatively moved forward, caution dictating his steps. The tunnel opened onto a massive cavern, filled with bright, bubbling lava and an intense heat like he'd never seen before. He didn't realise that the heat should've already killed him, that something was somehow protecting him, instead, he focused on the mighty ring of rock that sat at the cavern's centre. Whatever had been calling him, it had to be there.

"Hello!"

His fearful voice echoed in the vast space but he received no answer, there was an edge just ahead of him and he peered over to see if there was a way down. What he found however, was nothing but a steep drop straight into the lava, causing him to hastily back away. There was clearly no one here, perhaps the heat had actually got to him and he'd been imagining things. He really needed to get back to the beach and cool off with everyone else.

 _Help me…_

He looked to the central rocks, there was the voice again! Who was calling him?

 _It burns…_

There came a low rumble and the lava in the centre bubbled viciously.

 _It burns me!_

The voice was getting louder and the ground beneath him started to shake, the whole cavern rumbled and several boulders were shaken loose and fell.

 _It keeps burning!_

The shaking became more violent as the lava roiled and churned chaotically, Snotlout staggered about until he gripped the wall for support.

 _IT BURNS!_

Suddenly, a column of flame erupted from the centre, sending waves of lava rushing throughout the cavern. The area shook so violently that Snotlout was convinced it could be felt all over Berk and boulders rained down from the ceiling. An inhuman roar resounded in his ears and a pair of massive, clawed hands burst out of the flames. The fires died, revealing a mighty, beastlike form behind them.

It was huge, towering over him as it stood on two, powerful, tree-trunk like legs. It somewhat resembled a lion but its body was covered with rippling muscles and its crimson mane poured down its back. The rest of its fur was burnt brown, though it had cuffs of crimson fur around its wrists, and its four paws were surmounted with dangerous claws. It bared its sharp canines in a snarl and two long horns, protruded from its head and curved backwards, heightening its savage appearance.

A pair of glowing, yellow eyes looked down upon him and Snotlout gulped and backed away slightly. The beast snarled and swiped down with its paw and only the teen's quick reflexes saved him from being crushed. He immediately high-tailed it towards the exit but a fireball impacted right in front of him, throwing him backwards.

"WHAT THE…!?"

The beast roared and another, massive fireball formed between its hands, it held them aloft, its intent obvious and Snotlout instinctively covered his head, certain that he was about to die. He heard the roar, heard the attack be thrown down upon him and he awaited the inevitable...but it never hit.

The teen nervously lifted his head and saw that he was being protected by a dome made from the most unlikely substance.

Ice.

He sensed someone standing over him and he turned to see a towering, blue-haired woman, her hands uplifted as if she'd just cast a spell. She wore a long blue robe and her skin was icy white, she looked down at him with pale, crystal-like eyes and smiled.

" _Do not fear child, I am here._ "

* * *

 _ **PS-So, who are the two beings that have appeared? I'm pretty sure many of you can guess. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. This one gives us far more info on how summonings work in this verse as well as properly introduce the first two to appear. This story will actually lead into a cross-over with Fire Emblem 9 and 10 (the ones starring Ike) and there'll be a connected story appearing in that fandom as well so please give it a look. Thank you those who've shown their support of this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

The woman swung her hands down and the ice-dome shattered, its pieces flying towards the beast.

It roared and flames surrounded its body, melting the shards before they even struck home. The woman moved forward, placing herself between the beast and the terrified Snotlout.

" _Ifrit, calm your rage!_ "

At her words, the beast snarled, " _SHIVA!_ "

He sent a wave of flame towards her which she blocked with a wall of ice, she glanced back at Snotlout, " _Child, I will engage Ifrit. The moment I have him subdued, you must go and junction him, that is the only way he'll be freed from the madness that has claimed him!_ "

The boy jumped up in panic, "WHAT! What are you talking about!?"

She deflected another fire blast, " _This is not the time! Just do as I ask!_ "

Not waiting for a reply, she shattered the wall, launching its pieces as she had before. She moved forward with them and blasts of cold air sprung from her hands, the beast used fire to block the shards but the moment the flames died, she sent the freezing air swirling around him. Ice formed around his body, somehow not melting from the intense heat of the lava, and encased him. The woman continued blasting him with the icy winds but called out to Snotlout.

" _Now child!_ "

Not knowing what he was doing, Snotlout sprinted towards the beast. Using an ice bridge created by the woman, he reached the beast and without a second thought, thrust his left hand forward with his palm open. The moment he touched the mighty body, flames swirled around him but they did not burn. They whirled and billowed, focused around his body, then around his arm. They rapidly shrunk and vanished, appearing to fade into his very skin and with them went the beast.

As the beast vanished, the bubbling lava cooled and hardened, turning back into the rock it had once been. It groaned and cracked and the cavern rumbled then, subsided into stillness and silence.

Snotlout stood there, arm still outstretched, panting heavily and feeling more drained than he'd ever felt. Slowly, he pulled his arm back and examined it, not comprehending what he'd just done, and looked to where the beast had been mere moments before.

"What…?"

Exhaustion seized him and he fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

He awoke slowly, his eyes seemingly very heavy, and found himself in his own bed at home.

Snotlout sat up and looked around his room in confusion, how had he got home? Wasn't he in a cave a minute ago? Had everything just been a dream?

His door swung open and he faced it to see Hiccup come in. His cousin smiled, "Snotlout!"

Snotlout blinked, "What happened?"

"You went missing from the beach so we went to find you." Hiccup answered, "We found you unconscious in the forest, Gothi thinks you overheated."

"Oh, okay."

Snotlout frowned, is that what happened, he overheated and collapsed? Perhaps the cave and everything in it had been nothing but a deluded dream, caused by the heat.

" _Not quite little one._ "

The teen jumped at the sudden voice, "What!"

"Snotlout?"

He looked back at Hiccup's face, seeing concern all over the other boy's face, and he quickly blustered, "Err…nothing!"

"Are you sure?"

He folded his arms, "Yeah, I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

He put his attitude fully into his words and he saw Hiccup roll his eyes, "Yeah, you're fine." His cousin started walking to the door, "Just be at the Academy as normal tomorrow, Berk seems to have finally cooled down so we'll be doing training drills."

"Whatever, I'll be there."

He heard Hiccup's sigh and he waited until he was sure the boy had left the house before speaking out loud, "Who are you?"

" _You mean you don't know? I'm the one you just junctioned!_ "

"What are you talking about?"

" _Ifrit, please. It's not the child's fault, he didn't get the training he should've done._ "

A second, female voice joined the conversation and Snotlout rubbed his forehead tiredly, okay, its official. He was going mad!

" _Actually, you're perfectly sane._ " The female responded, " _Everything you experienced in that cave and our voices are very much real._ "

"Then who are you? What's going on?"

He'd hate to admit it, but he was starting to seriously freak out. He wanted answers and, hopefully, a solution. It was the female voice that answered, " _Firstly, I am called Shiva, I'm the one who helped you in the cave._ "

" _And I'm Ifrit._ " The male voice added, " _I'm the one you junctioned in that cave._ "

Shiva continued, " _We are what are known as 'summonings'. We've had many other names as well but that's probably the simplest one to use. We're powerful beings that are summoned to fight for whomever we are 'junctioned' to, those who command us are called 'summoners' and we're both currently junctioned to you._ "

"Wait! I'm a summoner?"

" _Yes child, as was your mother._ "

"What!"

Snotlout's mind was thrown into confusion, his mom had been a summoner! There was no way that was true! How could he have never known?

"That can't be right, I would've known!"

" _I can't say why she never told you, I was never junctioned to her, but I know she was a summoner as well._ " Shiva answered, " _The ability of summoning can only be inherited and all summoners receive their first summoning at a very early age, that is how you can tell whether they have the gift or not. Your mother recognised my mark on your body the moment she saw it and I could sense she had a summoning junctioned to her as well, she most certainly had the gift._ "

The teen clutched his head in his hands.

There was no possible way this was happening! It was all a dream, a nightmare, he was seriously ill and this was all a product of a fever! There were no such things as summoners so he had to be imagining the whole thing.

" _I understand this is a lot to comprehend child but it is true, you're not imagining any of this._ " Shiva's voice spoke soothingly, " _If you need more proof just look at your left arm._ "

Slowly, Snotlout turned his eyes upon his arm, his bracer was still sat where it always was and he tentatively started to remove it. A part of him wanted to just leave it where it was but his need to prove to himself that he wasn't crazy was greater and soon, the bracer was removed to reveal what lay beneath.

A new mark.

It was different from the one on his right arm, its pattern reminiscent of billowing flames instead of ice as his original one was, but it bore some similarities. However, he knew for certain that this mark had not been there that morning and it definitely wasn't a tattoo someone had slapped on him while he was unconscious.

Shiva spoke gently, " _That is the mark of Ifrit, it shows that he's been junctioned to you._ "

" _Yep._ " Ifrit added, " _I'm now your second summoning, so congratulations._ "

Snotlout traced Ifrit's mark with his finger, trying to comprehend what was going on, "I don't understand. What does this mean, why is it happening!?"

Panic was starting to creep into his voice and Shiva seemed to pick up on it, " _Snotlout, stay calm. We're both here and we can help you work this out. Normally, a summoner such as yourself would have a teacher, often the parent they inherited their gift from. I don't know why your mother didn't teach you but I'm sure she had her reasons, I myself couldn't help until now because you hadn't summoned me before and if it wasn't for Ifrit, you might never have done so. Now though, the combined knowledge of both of us is available to you._ "

Forcefully getting his panic under control, Snotlout took a deep breath and answered, "Okay."

" _Good._ " Though she wasn't actually physically present, the teen seemed to sense that Shiva was smiling, " _Now, we'll start at the very beginning with the basics._ "

There was a groan from Ifrit, " _Really, you're starting there! Can't we just skip onto the cool stuff?_ "

" _Ifrit!_ _He's had next to no training so we have to begin with the fundamentals._ "

The fire summoning sighed, " _Fine, but try and make it slightly interesting, or quick._ "

Snotlout was sure Shiva rolled her eyes, " _Honestly._ " She continued, " _Anyway, the basics. As I've already said, you are a summoner which is a person that can summon beings such as me and Ifrit whom the summoner has 'junctioned'. When a summoning is junctioned, their mark appears somewhere on the body of their summoner, thus indicating which summonings the individual has. Understand so far?_ "

"I think so."

" _Excellent._ " She pressed on, " _Now, a summoner can call their summonings into the physical world by using their own power to do so, you did this instinctively when we were fighting Ifrit._ "

"Wait!" Snotlout frowned in confusion, "I summoned you? I thought you came of your own accord?"

" _No._ " Shiva answered, " _A summoning cannot physically manifest with their own power, our magic doesn't allow it. It has to be an outside force to allow us to do that and it's that force's power that allows us to remain physically present, understand?_ "

"Basically, you need to use someone else's power to actually appear."

" _Exactly._ " She resumed her explanation, " _A summoner has a degree of power, commonly known as mana, magic power or MP, which is what they use to call their junctioned summonings. However, summoning us uses a lot of power and continuously drains the supply, that's why you collapsed after our battle with Ifrit._ "

"Yeah, about that." Snotlout scratched his head, "How did I end up in the forest? I'm sure I collapsed in the cave."

" _I managed to linger long enough to carry you out of the cave._ " She replied, " _It drained more of your magic than I'd have liked but I figured you'd be found quicker if you were in the forest. Luckily I was right._ " She continued, " _Because of the immense magic drain, it's rare for summoners to call us for extended periods of time since it weakens them so quickly. Fortunately, there are other abilities we grant to deal with this issue._ "

"Other abilities?"

" _Now this is the good bit!_ " Ifrit chipped in excitedly, " _Since you've junctioned us both, you can use some of our powers as your own without summoning us at all!_ "

"What do you mean?"

" _I mean, that since you have access to my awesomeness, you can use fire magic!_ "

"How!?"

Shiva cut in, " _I think it's best to leave that lesson until tomorrow. You've already had a lot to take in and your magic is still very low after what happened today. You need to rest more._ "

Ifrit sighed, " _Spoilsport._ "

Though he shared Ifrit's sentiments, Snotlout could feel himself becoming greatly tired once again, he settled himself back in bed, "Okay, we'll continue this tomorrow."

If they responded, he didn't hear because he was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Far from Berk, on a deserted rock of an island, the ground shook.

Cracks formed in the island's skin as boulders splintered apart. As suddenly as the shaking had started, it stopped and calm enveloped the area. A figure stood alone and examined the damage caused, they seemed to growl in discontent before holding up their hand and commandingly speaking one word.

"Quake!"

Immediately, the land shuddered once again, the rock cracking and splintering as it shook and writhed in one localised area. The effects however, spread beyond and the stone ripped apart causing damage in a wide area.

As before, the shaking stopped and this time the figure nodded in satisfaction before turning around and returning to the small boat that had brought him.

* * *

 _ **PS-There'll be more explanations on summoner abilities next chapter though the last section gives a bit of a hint. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. In this we see Snotlout beginning his training in using magic, providing a bit of an explanation as to how it works. Thank you those who've shown their support for this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

"Are we done now?"

Snotlout took momentary pleasure in Astrid's look of annoyance at his words but he kept his focus on Hiccup. His cousin sighed, "Snotlout, you've been wanting to get away ever since you turned up this morning!"

Snotlout shrugged, "Er…yeah, we've done these drills hundreds of times already!"

Though this was true, it wasn't the real reason he wanted to get away. After the events of yesterday, Shiva had said they'd teach him to use basic magic but she refused to start the lessons until the Academy training had finished. Personally, Snotlout just wanted to skip Dragon Training and get straight to it but she'd insisted he went, stating a multitude of reasons as to why he had to be there. As such, he was impatient to finish up.

At his words, Fishlegs seized the moment to slyly cut in, "Yet you and Hookfang still can't do them properly."

Fixing the smug bookworm with a glare, Snotlout gave an answering jibe, "And you're still kissing Hiccup's butt."

" _Ooohh, burn!_ "

And that was the other reason he wanted to get away. Ifrit was equally disgruntled at having to wait for the magic lessons and he'd been giving a running commentary in Snotlout's head all day. While the things the fire spirit said had been pretty hilarious, it had been a chore to not react when he spoke. Since only Snotlout could hear the summoning's words, if he laughed the others would be completely confused as to why he was laughing and probably start to think he was crazy. Despite that, it was kind of nice to have someone on his side for once, even if they were a weird fire spirit.

While Fishlegs spluttered at his uncharacteristically quick response, the teen returned his focus to his cousin, "So, are we done now?"

Hiccup, threw his hands up in exasperation, "Okay, fine! We're done!"

Snotlout smirked and immediately had Hookfang fly out of the arena and out over the forest. As they flew, Shiva spoke disapprovingly, " _You know, you could really stand to be nicer to people._ "

" _Oh, like they aren't jerks back to him._ " Ifrit responded, " _You heard how that chubby bookworm talks down at him, just because he's memorised all those dragon facts._ "

"Which usually turn out to be wrong when we actually meet the dragon." Snotlout added.

" _Still, you might find your time with them to be much more enjoyable if you tried to be friendlier with them._ " The ice spirit suggested.

Snotlout snorted but didn't reply as he guided Hookfang down towards a small beach far from the village.

The beach was hidden, only really accessible from the sea or on dragonback, making it a perfect retreat. Its secrecy meant he could happily start magic training without the risk of anyone accidently discovering what he was up to.

Jumping off his dragon, the teen rubbed his hands together, "Right then, how do I make things go 'boom'?"

" _Patience Snotlout._ " Shiva reprimanded him, " _Firstly, we need to go over basic spellcasting._ "

" _C'mon Shiva!_ " Ifrit groaned, " _Why do we always have to go the boring route?_ "

"Yeah, why do we have to do that?" Snotlout added.

Her response was steeped in sarcasm, " _Well, if you want to jump right in then go ahead, I'm sure you'll find blowing yourself up, draining all your magic and falling into a coma or freezing yourself into an eternal statue far more fun._ "

Envisioning all said things happening, Snotlout gulped, "You know what, boring route sounds more interesting than I first thought. Let's give it a shot."

" _I had a feeling you'd say that._ " She began the lesson, " _Now then, there are a couple of things about magic you need to know. Firstly, like with summoning us, using spells drains your magic power. At the moment, you probably only have enough to cast a few minor spells but as you practice, your pool of magic power will increase, allowing more powerful spells in greater numbers. In this manner, it's not that different from physical strength, the more you use it, the more you'll get, if using a proper training routine. Secondly, the spells you can use depends on the summonings you have junctioned as its their abilities you're drawing on._ "

"So, since you and Ifrit are fire and ice, I can only use fire and ice magic?"

She paused before answering in slight surprise, " _Why yes, that's exactly right._ " She continued, " _Thirdly, you have to be able to speak in order to use spells and summon us, no speech, no magic._ "

Snotlout frowned, "But, I didn't say anything to summon you in the cave."

" _Yes, you did, you shouted my name and summoned me._ "

Ifrit added his thought, " _You might've not realised you'd done so, summoners have called their junctioned summonings instinctively, speaking their name without realising it in times of great stress and danger. She may not have told you much but I'm sure your mother at least told you Shiva's name._ "

"I guess she did." He frowned again, "But since you can chat to me in my head, can't I use thoughts to summon you?"

" _It's more complex than that._ " The ice spirit answered, " _Words spoken with intent have more power than silent thoughts, actually speaking focuses your magic on its goal, only the most powerful summoners have the mental focus to summon and use magic non-verbally._ "

"Oh."

" _Basically, you need to be able to speak in order to use magic, that's the way it is for almost every summoner._ "

Ifrit spoke impatiently, " _Can we get on with this?_ "

Shiva sighed but continued, " _Now, let's start with a very simple spell. 'Candle Flame' conjures a small flame in the palm of your hand, useful for lighting dark places and starting small fires. It's not that great at attacking but it uses little magic and is the perfect place to start._ "

"Seriously!" Snotlout exclaimed, "We're starting with something like that, why can't I throw a fireball or something?"

" _Because you need to start small and work up to larger spells!_ " The ice spirit snapped, " _You have little magic and this spell is perfect for helping you get used to using it on command, instead of instinctively. Furthermore, you'll not be moving onto anything bigger until I believe you're ready!_ "

Wincing at her tone, the teen relented, "Okay, okay, I get it!"

" _Good._ " She addressed Ifrit, " _Now then, this spell uses your element so why don't you take it from here._ "

" _You got it._ " The fire spirit gave a brief explanation, " _Not much to it really, just think about making a flame on your hand and say, 'Candle Flame'. It's that simple._ "

"Okay." Snotlout answered confidently, "This'll be a piece of cake!"

* * *

Two hours later, the teen sat moodily on the sand.

"Arrgh, I can't even conjure a simple flame!"

He glared at the palm of his hand as if it was to blame and Ifrit spoke unhelpfully, " _Wow, I've never known a summoner to have such difficulty with this spell before._ "

" _That's not helping!_ " Shiva growled, she then spoke more soothingly to Snotlout, " _This is why I had you start here, most summoners start training from a very early age with their focus set on their magic. Unfortunately, you didn't get that training and you've been made to focus on your physical skills, that's why magic is proving to be such a challenge._ "

He folded his arms sulkily, "But I'm doing everything I'm supposed to, why isn't it working!?"

" _Just keep trying._ " She answered, " _It may take a while but it'll come and once you've got this spell, I'm sure the others will come more easily._ " She paused as if thinking, " _Perhaps we should try another way, when you speak the spell, what are you focusing on?_ "

"My hand, like you told me to."

Seemingly ignoring his attitude, Ifrit spoke up, " _And that's the problem, you're focusing on your hand, not the flame._ "

"But that's what you told me to focus on!"

" _No, I told you to focus on_ _ **making**_ _a flame_ _ **on**_ _your hand. The hand is just a convenient place for the flame to be, the flame itself is what you're trying to make. Forget about your hand and just think about making a flame, have faith that it only needs the words in order to appear._ "

Giving a frustrated sigh, Snotlout shut his eyes and tried to picture a candle flame, he took a deep breath and spoke the words, keeping the flame in his mind, "Candle Flame."

A strange feeling, as if some of his energy drained away, took him by surprise and his eyes snapped open. His mouth dropped as he saw something that appeared in the air right in front of his face.

A single, tiny flame.

Slowly, a grin spread across his features and he jumped up from the sand, shouting exuberantly, "I DID IT!"

Further down the beach, Hookfang lifted his head from where he'd been napping and Snotlout pointed excitedly at the flame, "Look Hookfang, I did it! I made magical fire!"

The Nightmare sauntered over and examined it in wonder, before giving his rider a rare rumble of approval.

" _Well done Snotlout._ " Shiva congratulated him, " _That's a good start but remember it's only the beginning._ "

" _You can say that again._ " Ifrit added, " _Your flame has already gone out so you're a long way from casting serious spells._ " Snotlout sensed that the fire spirit was giving a smile, " _But good going._ "

* * *

With darkness falling, Snotlout made his way back to Berk feeling dead tired.

After his initial success, he spent the rest of the day constantly attempting the Candle Flame spell. It took a great many attempts but he eventually reached the stage where he could get it to work every single time. However, the endless use of his magic drained him in the way an intense training session would, making him incredibly tired.

Having dropped Hookfang off at the Academy pens, he exhaustedly pushed the door of his house open and wandered inside yawning, only to freeze when he saw his dad there.

Spitelout was rifling through his vast weapon collection and he looked up at his son, "Ah, there you are boyo. I was wondering where you'd gone."

Snotlout grinned and shrugged, "Well you know, I was off training." He postured, "These Jorgenson muscles don't build themselves."

It wasn't exactly a lie, he just wasn't quite insinuating the actual type of training he'd been doing. His dad grinned, "Good to hear! Getting ready for challenging Hiccup eh?"

The teens grin became more fixed, "Well, not exactly…"

"And why not?" His father demanded, "Jorgensons take son, you know that."

"Well yeah, but I don't see why I need to take control of the Dragon Riders…"

"Snotlout, if you don't fight for it, you don't get it." Spitelout stated, "You've got to be willing to force your way in, it's how the world works. If you don't, you spend your whole life as a nobody. Jorgensons aren't nobodies."

His dad selected a mace and strode for the door, "Now, I've got a bludgeon-off with Sven. I can't wait to show him who's head is hardest."

The door slammed shut behind him and Snotlout sighed.

Why was his father so obsessed with forcefully taking? It didn't seem to be working for them so far. Why couldn't he just accept that Hiccup was a better leader, better suited for commanding the riders? He really envied the way his cousin just seemed to have everything, the best dragon, the best girl, even future chieftainship of the tribe.

He looked down at his bracer covered marks.

Maybe his dad was the reason his mom told him to keep his marks a secret, he doubted that Spitelout Jorgenson would like his son being a summoner.

* * *

 _ **PS-A little glimpse of Snotlout's family issues at the end there. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to another chapter that has been a long time coming. Sorry it took so long but my creativeness has either been not here or thinking on other things. Thank you those who continue to support this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

"Fire!"

A wooden log, stuck upright in the sand, shuddered as a flash of flame struck it. It already had several blackened marks from previous attacks and Snotlout grinned, even as he panted heavily.

" _Nice one._ " Ifrit spoke approvingly, " _But you should take a rest for a bit, you still have very limited magic._ "

It had been two weeks since Snotlout had first junctioned Ifrit and things seemed to be going well. Each day, when he managed to escape Dragon Training, he would come to the beach and practice magic under Shiva and Ifrit's tutorage. They alternated between fire and ice each day and slowly, the teen's pool of magic was growing. He could now use Candle Flame with ease and had learned to create a simple ice spike, currently, he was working on the basic spells Fire and Blizzard. While only minor spells, they used significantly more magic than the tiny ones that proceeded them, meaning that Snotlout had to take more rests.

Sitting heavily on the sand, the teen flopped onto his back, "You were right when you said this one would tire me out more."

" _Though your magic is developing quickly._ " Shiva answered, " _Especially since you had no training until now._ "

Noting the position of the sun, Snotlout sighed, "Guess we'll have to call it a day, if I'm not back soon then people are going to notice."

Ifrit growled, " _Great, back to your father, how do you put up with him?_ "

" _Ifrit!_ " Shiva hissed.

Snotlout sat up slowly, "He's my dad, I kind of have to put up with him." He sighed again, "Though I can't say I haven't sometimes wished he wasn't. It would remove a lot of pressure to be 'a Jorgenson'."

Hookfang had picked up on his rider's mood and he came over and nuzzled him even as Shiva spoke gently, " _Maybe he pushes you the way he does because he feels he has to._ "

" _Or he's just a jerk._ "

" _Ifrit!_ "

The teen stood, "Either way, he's my dad and that's not going to change anytime soon."

He mounted Hookfang and the Nightmare took to the air, flying slowly back towards Berk. The evening was calm and clear, and the boy enjoyed the flight, putting off going back home as long as possible. Berk was just coming into view when he noticed one of their ships limping back, with several gaping holes upon its deck.

He immediately signalled Hookfang to change direction and they dived towards the docks to find out exactly what happened.

They landed just as the ship was pulled in and Stoick approached the crew, "Stormlegs, what happened out there!?"

Fishlegs' father was well known as Berk's best sailor and fisherman, very rarely did anything phase him when it came to the sea but this time, he seemed shaken, "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it, a beast akin to Jörmungandr himself attacked us."

Ever practical, Stoick frowned, "The Midgar Serpent? Are you sure it wasn't a rogue dragon?"

The man shook his head, "I know what I saw Stoick, this thing was no dragon. Everything about it felt wrong, like it didn't belong here. It stole no food or supplies, it just showed up, attacked and disappeared without warning."

The chief simply nodded but was clearly not convinced while Gobber inspected the ship, "Well, this'll no be going anywhere for a while, she'll need some serious work before she's seaworthy again."

"Get on it Gobber." Stoick gestured to Hiccup, who'd also arrived on the scene, "With me son, let's find out what we can about this 'Midgar Serpent' from the crew."

As he strode off, Hiccup and others following behind, Snotlout ambled curiously over to the ship. Even with his limited knowledge, he could see that the ship was just short of a wreck, it was a miracle it was still floating and there was no way it was seaworthy. It lacked a mast, its deck was full of gaping holes and its stern had been all but ripped off, whatever did this was a seriously nasty beast. He peered in one of the holes in the side remarking quietly to his two summonings, "This is one dragon I don't want to meet."

" _That is, if it is a dragon._ "

At Shiva's answer he frowned, "What do you mean?"

" _It might be nothing, but something feels off about this. I sense something from this ship that makes me think this isn't the work of a dragon. Not a normal one anyway._ "

"You don't believe it to be the work of the 'Midgar Serpent' do you?" The boy scoffed slightly.

" _Definitely not._ " She responded, " _But there's still something different about this._ "

" _You're right about that._ " Ifrit agreed, " _I can sense it too, there's something weird going here_."

"If you say so." Snotlout shrugged, "But what?"

His answer was not very enlightening, " _I'm not sure._ "

* * *

Unsurprisingly, it wasn't long before Stoick had ordered the Dragon Riders to head out and investigate.

Keeping a loose formation, the Riders swooped over the ocean, scanning the waves below. Hiccup brought Toothless to a hover and addressed his fellow riders, "This is roughly where Stormlegs encountered it."

As expected, Fishlegs was the first to voice his concerns, "Are you sure we should be looking for this thing?"

"It's a new dragon Fishlegs!" Hiccup answered, "Aren't you excited about it?"

"Not when we don't know if it's even a dragon."

"Come on Fishlegs." Astrid scoffed, "You don't seriously believe it to be some kind of sea serpent?"

The boy clasped his hands nervously, "Look, I know my dad, he does not get shaken easily by anything in the ocean, yet this thing had him scared. No matter what you think, if my dad says it wasn't a dragon that attacked his ship, then he's most likely right."

Hiccup scanned the sea then sighed, "Either way, it's not likely to be here now. We should split up and widen the search, if this thing continues to attack ships, it needs to be stopped."

Throughout the discussion, Snotlout had remained quiet, distracted by a weird sensation. He stared hard at the waters below them and as he did so, Ifrit spoke to him, " _You can sense something now as well can't you?_ "

The boy muttered quietly, so his words would not be heard by the others, "Yes, I think something's there."

He leaned further over Hookfang's neck, peering down into the depths. Slowly, a dark shape began to appear, and alarms went off in Snotlout's head, "Guys, we need to get up and away from here!"

The other riders had been discussing their next course of action and looked at him in surprise. Quick to realise something was wrong, Hiccup saw where Snotlout was staring and glanced there himself, instantly spotting the rapidly growing dark shape, "Into the sky, NOW!"

Immediately, the dragons shot upwards just as a mighty beast burst from the ocean.

A powerful, blue, serpentine body shot upwards towards them as a massive, frill-backed head snapped with rows of razor sharp teeth. It narrowly missed Meatlug and roared angrily, its frill flaring out to enhance the effect.

As the dragons dodged, Snotlout could hear Ifrit almost shouting in his head, " _Jumping, spiritual knickers, that's Leviathan!_ "

Snotlout could only agree, even without the summoning's confirmation, he knew that the creature was no dragon, it just felt…off. Hiccup seemed to realise this as well, "That is not a dragon!"

Leviathan roared again and glared up at the dragons flying above it, it then reared back like a striking snake before releasing a torrent of water from its mouth. The high-powered stream forced the dragons to scatter to avoid being hit and Hookfang's evasion took him dangerously close to the sea.

Suddenly, a tail swiped out of nowhere crashing into the Nightmare and sending him into a spiral. The impact flung Snotlout from the saddle and the boy plummeted into the ocean.

He barely had time to flounder to the surface before the tail wrapped around him and dragged him under into the depths.

* * *

 _ **PS-Sorry that its so short, I'll hopefully have a longer one next time. Please let me know what you thought and I'll try and update sooner this time.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to the next chapter. This one picks up straight after the previous cliff-hanger as more about what is going on is revealed. Thank for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

Dripping water, the first thing he could hear as he slowly came to.

" _SNOTLOUT!_ "

He woke with a start as a voice rang through his head, "Wuh…what!? I'm up, I'm up!"

" _Finally!_ "

Though he sounded annoyed, the teen thought he could sense relief in Ifrit's voice and he groaned, "How long have I been out and where are we?"

It was Shiva who answered, " _For quite some time and some sort of sea cavern I think._ "

The teen glanced around him, only to find himself surrounded by darkness, "Where's Levi-whatsit?"

" _You mean Leviathan._ " Shiva corrected, " _I'm not sure but I'm certain he'll be back_."

Carefully standing, Snotlout held out his hand, "Candle Flame!"

Immediately, a flame appeared above his open palm, lighting a small area around him and revealing that he was indeed in a cavern of some sort. Just feet away was a large, deep pool while the rest seemed to be solid rock, it was too big for his flame to light it all, but he still got the impression it was huge.

" _Let me guess, there's no way out?_ "

Snotlout sighed at Ifrit's sarcastic question, "Doesn't look like it." He frowned, "Though there must be air coming in from somewhere."

Tentatively, he began searching around the cavern's edge, looking for some sort of tunnel, but he only found stone walls. With another sigh, he sat down heavily, "So much for that."

" _Snotlout, you might want to consider putting your flame out._ " Shiva suggested.

"Why?"

" _To reserve your magic. I know it doesn't use much but its still constantly draining your power, best to save that for something else._ "

Personally, the teen didn't want to lose his only light source, but he did see her point, he had limited enough magic as it was, and it wasn't like he really needed the light, there wasn't anything here to see. Moving as far from the pool as possible, he let the flame die and plunge him into darkness once more. He sat in silence for a while until he decided to fill his time with something to take his mind off his predicament, "So, who's this Leviathan?"

" _Another summoning like us._ " Shiva answered, " _Specifically a water based one, he specialises in water magic and its said he is capable of devastating his enemies with mighty tsunamis, though I've never seen it myself._ "

" _Though I don't know why he's suddenly attacking Berk's ships. Its not like he needs to eat seeing as he's a summoning._ " Ifrit added.

"Yeah, about that…" Snotlout frowned, "How is he even able to be here? You guys told me that a summoning needs the power of a summoner to appear, so who summoned him?"

There was a pause until Shiva finally responded, " _That's actually a very good question._ "

"And along with that, how come you were on Berk Ifrit?"

" _To be perfectly honest, I don't know._ " The fire spirit admitted, " _What brought me there is fragmented in my memory, all I know is that it was incredibly painful, its why I was out of control and attacked you. I think something forced me to appear there, beyond a normal summoning anyway._ "

" _But what could force a summoning into a prolonged appearance in the physical world, it would take an incredible amount of power to maintain its presence for that long._ " Shiva stated.

" _Look, I can't tell you any more than that because I don't know myself!_ " He snapped, " _All I know is that Snotlout junctioning me is what brought me back to sanity!_ " He paused thoughtfully, " _Though maybe something similar has happened to Leviathan, it could explain what's going on._ "

The cavern started to rumble, causing Snotlout to leap to his feet.

"I think I might've just been given the chance to ask him!"

The rumbling steadily increased, and the teen backed away from the pool, suddenly, something burst through the cavern wall and daylight poured in, blinding him. Shading his eyes from the glare, Snotlout peered through his fingers at the mighty figure standing in the new opening as Ifrit spoke in shock.

" _Is that…Titan!?_ "

As the teen's eyes adjusted, the figure became clearer.

Titan was a towering, broad, muscular man, with dark green hair and dark skin the colour of the earth. Though appearing human, his sheer size, pointed ears and piercing, yellow eyes indicated he was no such thing. He wore only a green loincloth, so every powerful muscle could be seen.

Snotlout stared up at the giant, "Is he another summoning?"

He received no answer because Titan saw him and charged, slamming his hand down upon the boy.

With a scream, Snotlout hurled himself to the side, narrowly avoiding being crushed. Running purely on panic, he rolled and held his arm up commandingly, "Blizzard!"

Instantly, a small ice crystal formed around Titan's leg and shattered, however, the creature didn't even seem harmed by the attack. A brief look of confusion crossed its face and it walked very deliberately towards him. Scurrying backwards, the teen hurled another spell, "Fire!"

There was a flash of flames which struck home but still it kept coming, Ifrit screamed in his head, " _Dammit kid, you can't even burn up a log, do you really think your power is enough to harm a summoning yet!? Just make a bolt for the exit!_ "

Needing no further urging, Snotlout turned tail and ran, bolting for the hole Titan had smashed in. The giant came steadily after him and suddenly, the boy found himself being grabbed by a massive hand. Struggling in its grip, he was lifted up to Titan's level as the giant peered at him, in his head, he could hear Shiva screaming at him, " _Snotlout, just summon Ifrit, quickly!_ "

"What?!"

" _Just do it boy!_ " Ifrit snarled, " _I'll only hang around long enough for you to get away!_ "

Before Snotlout could even comply, another roar resounded through the cavern.

Levithan burst out of the pool and slammed itself into Titan, caught off-guard, the summoning was smashed back through the cavern wall and Snotlout was sent flying through the air.

In a flash, Leviathan swung his head towards the boy and the teen barely had time to realise what was happening before its jaws snapped shut around him.

* * *

SPLAT!

Snotlout landed in a saliva covered heap upon a beach and he sat up, shaking like a leaf and nearly hysterical with terror, "I never want to do that **ever** again!"

There was a growl behind him and he spun around to come face to face with Leviathan. With a yelp, he fell backwards, "Get away!"

" _Peace young summoner, I do not mean to harm you!_ "

Snotlout looked at him incredulously, "You tried to eat me!"

Leviathan looked guilty, " _I apologise, it was the easiest place I could carry you beneath the waves and away from Titan._ "

"In your _mouth_!?

The summoning frowned, " _I was under pressure!_ "

"And why did you drag me to that place to begin with, why did you attack!?"

Leviathan rumbled, " _Listen carefully young summoner, for this does not bode well._ " He paused before beginning his explanation, " _We summonings come from a place that is separate from your world or, more precisely, the place between worlds. In normal circumstances, it is a summoner that uses their power to bring us into the world and fight for them. A junctioned summoning resides in the body of its summoner, granting powers and abilities to that person and that is how summoning works. However, something is upsetting that system, a force is dragging unjunctioned summonings unwillingly into the world, this causes lack of self-awareness, pain, rage and loss of sanity in the summoning and that is what happened to me._ "

"What do you mean?"

" _I am not junctioned to anyone, so it shouldn't be possible for me to be here, yet I suddenly found myself in your world. The transfer caused a haze of rage to fall upon me and I began to attack indiscriminately, until I encountered you._ " He frowned, " _I do not know why but when I saw you, the haze was lifted, and I saw that you were a summoner. I knew I had to tell you what had happened, but I could not do so in front of the others, so I took you to a place to speak in private. Unfortunately, a dark-hearted summoner also knew of me and he came to forcefully junction me, as I was dealing with him, he sent Titan to ambush me and he found you._ "

"Oh, that's why he was there."

" _Indeed, young one._ "

Snotlout scratched his head, "So, let me get this straight. Something is forcing un-junctioned summonings into our world, causing them to rampage and there is another summoner out there with Titan who will likely attack me again."

" _Rather roughly put, but yes._ "

"Just great."

Leviathan lowered his head, " _I cannot say why, but I can feel myself starting to disappear from this world once more, I only wished to warn you of what is happening._ "

The teen shot his head up to look at him, noticing the summoning's body starting to fade, "Wait, what! Can't you tell me anything more?"

" _I'm afraid not young summoner, this is all I can do for you._ "

Before Snotlout could respond, Leviathan faded, leaving him standing upon the beach alone.

" _Well this isn't good._ "

The teen sighed at Ifrit's remark, "You don't say."

Shiva spoke up worriedly, " _If something is forcing un-junctioned summonings into the world then there's a serious problem. I've never heard of anything like this happening before._ "

" _Not to mention whoever has Titan junctioned._ " Ifrit added.

Snotlout groaned, "What do we do?"

"SNOTLOUT!"

The teen whirled around to see Hiccup and the other riders swooping down towards him. They landed hastily on the beach and his cousin practically tumbled off Toothless, "You're alive!"

Astrid was close behind him, "What happened, where's the sea serpent." She then glanced at him and frowned, "Is that…saliva?"

Snotlout glanced down at himself and remembered he was still covered in Leviathan's drool, he shrugged, "I guess I wasn't that tasty, he spat me up on the beach."

Immediately, the twins shoved their way to the front.

"You got eaten by it, awesome!"

Tuffnut came right into his face, "Did you see its stomach, its oesophagus, did any part of you get dissolved?"

He shoved the boy away, "No, I only saw the inside of its mouth." He shuddered, "And it's something I really don't want to repeat."

Any further conversation was halted as Hookfang barged his way through and pounced on his rider, rumbling with relief and checking that he was well and truly alright, and for the moment, Snotlout forgot other concerns.

* * *

On another island, standing before the gaping hole made by Titan, stood a man.

He folded his arms pensively, "So, there's another summoner in the Archipelago, too bad you didn't get a proper look at his face Titan."

There was a pause and the man chuckled, "Don't worry about it my friend, we'll find them again and take his summoning for ourselves."

* * *

 _ **PS-So, any guesses on the mystery summoner? Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to another chapter. Apologies for the long wait but it was Christmas and all the rest. This one introduces the Outcasts and reveals a little more. Thank you all for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Lying in bed, Snotlout couldn't help but ponder over the events of a few days ago.

Leviathan, Titan, a mysterious summoner, and something forcing summonings into the world, causing them to run wild. Why was everything becoming so crazy, it was bad enough when he was just dealing with his own powers, now he had a bunch of other things to worry about. He rolled over and stared out of his open window, somewhere out there was another with the same powers as him, unfortunately, they didn't seem too keen on being friendly.

What were they planning?

* * *

Upon the dark waters, cloaked by the shadows of the moonless night, three ships sailed silently towards Berk.

Aboard the lead vessel, stood Alvin the Treacherous, Chief of the Outcasts and Berk's greatest and oldest enemy. Beside him, stood Savage, Alvin's chief lackey and first scapegoat when things didn't go as the outcast chief wished.

Savage nodded towards the darkness ahead, "We're nearly at Berk sir, Stoick won't know what hit him."

Alvin chuckled, "This night-time sneak attack was an excellent idea, glad I thought of it."

It had been Savage's idea originally, but the outcast simply nodded in agreement, "Indeed it was sir, a truly inspired decision."

Alvin waved him off, "Go and make sure the men are ready."

Internally, Savage bristled at his chief's tone, but years of practice prevented it from showing externally. Instead, he went to do as he'd been ordered, but in his mind, he considered his own options.

He had his own plans for when they reached Berk.

* * *

Alvin had picked his tactic well, his ships slipped into one of Berk's many bays unnoticed, hidden from lookouts by the darkness of the night, and his force moved swiftly through the forest.

This wasn't a raid, but a capture mission, Alvin wanted Berk's rumoured 'Dragon Conqueror' to deal with the dragons on his island. The fact he could use it as an excuse to attack his great rival, Stoick, was a lucky bonus. Ideally, they'd capture the Dragon Conqueror first off, but they were more likely going to have to capture a bunch of hostages first, with children granting him the most leverage in negotiations.

The attack was to be swift and aggressive, bash down the doors of Berk's homes and grab any easy captives before retreating. Simple, but effective on a fast-asleep village that wasn't aware of the danger.

Unfortunately, he hadn't realised that dragons now lived there.

It was a Nadder that caught their scent first, and the dragon leapt up with a warning roar, alerting other dragons that joined in with the noise. This swiftly woke the sleeping Vikings, and as they rushed out of their homes, they easily noticed the impending attack.

Alvin roared a charge and chaos exploded as dragons jumped to defend their human neighbours, Stoick was instantly in the thick of it, roaring out orders and rallying the village as children were rushed to hiding places and warriors seized their weapons.

The fight began.

* * *

Snotlout tumbled out of his dad's hut, flustered by the commotion.

He stood in the midst of the chaos, looking around wildly in panic, until Gobber grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and roughly shoved him in the direction of the arena, "Get yerself to yer dragon! Now!"

He immediately shot off, the blacksmith's commanding words cracking him into action. A screech and an explosion nearby indicated that Hiccup and Toothless were already in the air and fighting, and he increased his speed.

Way ahead of him, he spotted Astrid sprinting the same way until Stormfly met her and soon, the pair of them also took to the skies. Meatlug and Fishlegs buzzed overhead with Barf and Belch and the twins close behind, leaving him as the only one not airborne.

He rushed onwards, but his charge for the arena was flung off-kilter by the ground suddenly shaking beneath him.

He staggered for balance, and the ground cracked and split, sliding sideways and developing into a small landside towards the beach below. Tumbling with the earth, Snotlout rolled downwards until he came to a rough, and painful, halt on the beach. He sat up with a groan, Shiva's concerned queries in his head, " _Snotlout, are you okay? What happened?_ "

He rubbed his now sore head, "I have no idea."

"Are you sure he's the one?"

A coarse, unknown voice broke in, and Snotlout glanced upwards at a man who was definitely not from Berk.

The man stared at him incredulously, "Its hard to believe he's the summoner you encountered."

Snotlout stood warily, who was this guy talking to? It certainly wasn't him but there was no one else around. The sounds of battle were dim here, the landside having carried him far from the fight, but apparently, one of the Outcasts was here.

The man's oddly one-sided conversation seemingly ended, he took a threatening step towards him, "Now boy, I'm Savage, and you'll be coming with me."

Snotlout sensed something coming, and he dived to the side just as Savage spoke commandingly, "Quake!"

The ground where the teen had just been standing rumbled and shook, the beach cracking and shaking at that point. As Snotlout rolled away, Ifrit spoke, " _Earth magic! Something tells me we've just found Titan's summoner._ "

Rolling away from another patch of rumbling earth, Snotlout gasped back, "More like he found us!"

He held up his hand, practically shouting his attack, "Blizzard!"

Savage dodged the shattering ice shard, but Snotlout was already launching another spell, "Fire!"

This time, the burst of flame struck home, but Savage merely staggered slightly and then grinned, "You aren't that strong yet!"

Snotlout blinked in confusion as Shiva spoke hastily, " _Since he's a summoner as well, he's more resistant to magic than most people. I fear your spells aren't powerful enough to do any real damage to him on their own. If you hit him with a lot of them it would gradually have more of an effect, but you simply don't have enough magic power to do that._ "

"So, what do I do!?"

Savage answered the teen for her, "Give up." He swung his arm out, "Quakera!"

This time, the ground rumbled far more violently, and in a wider area. Snotlout was caught up in the spell and tossed into the air by the heaving earth, he landed heavily upon the ground with a grunt, winded by the attack.

Savage loomed over him menacingly, "As I said before, you're coming with me!"

A roar resounded from above, and a very angry, very dangerous Hookfang swooped down towards them. He breathed forth his ferocious flames, forcing Savage to jump back, and as he flew overhead, Hiccup and Toothless led the other riders and dragons downwards to attack themselves. Savage gave a snarl, clearly frustrated by this hitch to his plan, but turned tail and retreated, allowing the dragons to land beside Snotlout.

Hiccup leapt off Toothless and hurried over to his cousin, concern etched across his face, the others meanwhile, looked around at the cracked and broken ground around them.

"What happened here?"

His body still throbbing from Savage's final spell, Snotlout somehow produced an explanation, "The ground gave way beneath me, it stunned me, and that Outcast tried to take advantage and capture me."

Naturally, he left out the whole magic battle in the middle, but his excuse was relatively close to the truth, Astrid was glancing around her as well, "It looks like an earthquake happened here, and some of this damage does not line up with a landslide."

Trying to prevent any further investigations, Snotlout scrambled swiftly onto Hookfang, "Look, can't we deal with the attack first?"

"Its pretty much over." Hiccup responded, "The Outcasts weren't expecting dragons, so we repelled them pretty quickly, with minimal damage to the village as well. We're here because no one saw you at the fight and we worried something had happened to you." He looked briefly in the direction Savage had fled, "Good thing too." He remounted Toothless, "Anyway, we should probably check if we can help out at the village, we'll look into this weird landslide later."

He led them into the sky and back towards Berk. Snotlout hung near the back of the group, quietly speaking to Ifrit and Shiva, "What do we do about Savage? He's more powerful than me."

" _We train._ " The ice spirit answered, " _At the moment, that's all you can do. I assume he's with the Outcasts, considering he appeared right at the same time as their attack, as such, he's likely retreated with them as well and won't return until they do. That gives us time._ "

" _And the more you train, the more powerful your magic will get._ " Ifrit added, " _We'll keep working on Fire and Blizzard until your ready to try Fira and Blizzara. That'll bump your attack power up._ "

" _I'd also suggest that you and Hookfang stay close as much as possible._ " Shiva advised, " _Savage and Titan's abilities rely on earth, making it pretty useless against a flying dragon, Quake and Quakera can't hurt you if you're not on the ground._ "

Snotlout frowned, "Oh, I hadn't thought of that."

" _Every type of magic has some sort of shortcoming._ " Ifrit explained, " _My fire magic doesn't even work underwater, and the power of Shiva's ice magic is dependant on the environment. These weaknesses help to balance things out between different summonings, making them relatively equal._ "

"So, there isn't any sort of 'super summoning', that's stronger than the others?"

There was a pause, before Shiva spoke almost tentatively, " _Well, there are a couple that far exceed ones like us, though they're rarely seen, and even more rarely junctioned._ "

"Really? So, some summoner out there could have a ridiculously powerful summoning?"

" _Unlikely._ " She answered, " _As I said, they're rarely junctioned, partly because doing so requires a ridiculous amount of magic power, but also because its an incredibly painful process, or so I've heard._ "

" _These summonings are known as Grand Summons._ " Ifrit added, " _Their power is legendary, even among summonings like us, I've never even heard the name of one of those guys, never mind seeing on. Its said that only another Grand Summon can match one, anything else is doomed to fail._ "

At the fire spirit's words, Snotlout felt a slight chill down his spine, and he involuntary shuddered, "They sound both awesome, and terrifying."

Shiva spoke confidently, " _But its very unlikely you're ever going to see one, as Ifrit said, we don't even know what they're called, and we've certainly never met one. I doubt you'll ever encounter a Grand Summon._ "

* * *

On the beach of a lone island, one of little interest to anybody, sat a man.

He didn't have the 'classic' Viking build, instead, it was more toned and agile, with little of the bulk many Vikings had. In fact, he would even seem quite short when compared to most, but it did not mean he wasn't strong.

He casually brushed his fringe of black hair out of his eyes, and a voice spoke almost lazily beside him.

" _You should really cut your hair._ "

The man huffed and flopped back, "Really, you're going to start going on at me about that now." He glanced at his companion, "You don't have to keep nagging me all the time Mutt."

A large wolf, graced with strange red markings upon its snow-white fur sighed, " _I'll keep nagging until you start listening._ " It eyed him, " _And what have I told you about calling me 'Mutt'._ _Seriously, you're a grown man with a family, would it hurt to act more responsibly from time to time?_ "

"I am very responsible!" The man protested, "And considering all I've done, I deserve to be irresponsible from time to time."

The wolf turned its back on him with a sigh, revealing a strange, circular mirror, somehow wreathed with colourful flames,upon its back, " _Why do I bother._ " It glanced back at him, " _And why have you summoned me anyway?_ "

"To chat of course." The man answered carelessly.

" _We can chat in your head just fine, you don't need to summon me to talk to me._ "

"But I prefer seeing the one I'm talking to." The man sat up and grinned knowingly, "Besides, I know you like physically being in our world."

The wolf rolled its eyes but didn't deny his statement, instead, it changed topic, " _So, we found him then?_ "

The man nodded, his face suddenly serious, "Yep, and it seems something is going down, what with un-junctioned summonings crashing into this world and all."

" _Do you think we should interfere?_ "

He shook his head, "No, ideally we shouldn't interfere at all, but something tells me we will have to at some point."

" _Well, we wouldn't even be here if we didn't need to._ " The wolf frowned, " _Something is seriously screwing things around here, and that is only going to lead to trouble for everyone._ " It glanced at its human companion curiously, " _Do you think its connected to what's happening on the continent?_ "

He shrugged, "No idea, but it probably is." He began drumming his fingers, "There's been a bit of a surge in practicing summoners over there, our gift was all but forgotten, what with the racial tension and that 'Goddess' mucking everything up. Now though, there are several summoners awakening their abilities, it can't be coincidence, all these things happening."

" _Is it maybe the Goddess?_ "

The man snorted, "Hardly, she doesn't have the power to drag summonings into the world forcefully, besides, she's currently having a big old nap until enough time has passed or someone has woken her up." He frowned, "No, something else is causing all this, and we need to find out what."

The wolf smirked, " _So, more watching and waiting. How unlike you._ "

He groaned, "Believe me, I'd much prefer to just charge in like I usually do, but this whole thing is precarious, better to know exactly what we're dealing with before we try anything."

The man stood, "Well then, let's get to it."

The wolf also stood, taking time to stretch and yawn before responding, " _Indeed, I should nip back if we're making a move._ " It looked up at its human friend, " _You've got the Water Tablet handy, yes?_ "

This time, it was the man who sighed, "Yes Mom, I've got the tablet. Anything else you want to nag me about, spare smalls, soap?"

The wolf shook its head, " _Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit._ "

With that parting remark, the wolf vanished, leaving only a brief flurry of blossom petals behind it, and the man stretched and jogged towards the sea, "Right then, information gathering."

He bounded off, blossom petals from nowhere billowing behind him as he sprinted far faster than a human should be able to run, travelling over the sea as if it were solid ground.

* * *

 _ **PS-Savage is revealed as Titan's summoner and a mysterious figure and his summoning are investigating things themselves. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to the next chapter. This one has the Outcasts and Savage once again, as well as the appearance of another well-known face. Thank you all for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

"Blizzard!"

A small ice explosion impacted a wooden dummy, and a voice quickly followed it.

"Fire!"

This time, flames struck the dummy, knocking it backwards and burning its outside. From his casting position, Snotlout grinned, "Yeah, nailed it!"

Shiva hummed in approval, " _You've certainly gotten better._ "

" _But you've still got a way to go._ " Ifrit added, " _Though, you can use those spells more often now, and they don't tire you out as much._ "

"Well, that's what three weeks of training will do for you." Snotlout responded as he sat down for a rest, "I have to get better if I'm doing this every day." He gave a worried frown, "Though I think the others are getting suspicious of what I'm up to."

" _I'm not surprised._ " Shiva answered, " _You do regularly vanish here after Dragon Training, and while 'training' is the truthful answer, it still seems suspicious._ "

" _And let's not forget that the Astrid girl was never really satisfied with your explanation for the damage caused by your fight with Savage._ " Ifrit continued.

Snotlout groaned, "Tell me about it, she now keeps trying to follow me to find out what I'm doing. Its becoming a trial in and of itself to give her the slip, and doing so only makes her more determined to get her answers."

"Snotlout!"

The teen jumped to his feet in shock at the sudden voice, he looked frantically upwards to see the very girl he'd been talking about, swooping towards him on Stormfly, "There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you!" She dismounted and eyed the burnt dummy, "What've you been doing here?"

He fumbled for an answer, "Well, I was doing some…unarmed combat training when…Hookfang got antsy and set fire to the dummy."

As if to back his words up, Hookfang chose that exact moment to wander up and thwack the dummy into the air with his tail, then blow it up with a fire blast. As the charred pieces of it rained down behind him, Snotlout quickly changed the subject, "So, what are you doing here?" He leaned forward flirtatiously, "Wanted to see some of the 'Snotman' in action?"

The girl immediately looked disgusted, "Not on your life Snotlout."

The boy sighed with relief on the inside, glad his flirting successfully distracted her from interrogating him further, but she wasn't finished, "I'm here because Hiccup sent me, we've possibly seen Outcasts on Dragon Island, Hiccup thinks we should check it out and find out what they're up to."

Without sparing him another glance, she remounted her dragon and took off into the sky, as she left, Snotlout let out a slow breath, "That was close."

" _I'll say._ " Ifrit answered, " _Just a couple of minutes earlier and she'd have seen everything._ "

" _That just proves how careful we have to be._ " Shiva mused, " _Perhaps we should find somewhere else to practise._ "

"We'll worry about that later." Snotlout quickly jumped onto Hookfang, "Right now, we'd best join up with the others.

* * *

As they flew to Dragon Island, Hiccup pondered on his suspicions about Snotlout.

His cousin had been far more secretive lately, spending more time on his own while claiming to be 'training'. When he was around them, he acted pretty much the way he always did, but he would often vanish when he could and when he reappeared, he always looked very tired.

As they approached the island, Hiccup gave instructions to the others, "Okay gang, there's no sign of any Outcast ships but let's not take any chances, Fishlegs, Ruff, Tuff and Snotlout, you guys fly round the east side of the island, me and Astrid will take the west. Keep your eyes open and don't engage if you see any Outcasts, we're only here on reconnaissance."

With minimal complaint (unusually), Snotlout and the others peeled off to the east, and with his cousin out of earshot, Hiccup was free to voice his concerns to Astrid, "Hey, Astrid, have you noticed anything off with Snotlout?"

"You mean his sudden surge of lone 'training'?" She answered, "Because I have, as well as his sudden secrecy."

"Do you know what he's up to?"

She shook her head, "I have no idea, I've tried to find out what his training is, but I've had no luck, and whenever I bring it up, he gives some barely-believable answer and evades the question."

Hiccup frowned, so it wasn't just him who'd noticed, what was his cousin doing that required such secrecy? What was he doing during these 'training' sessions?

Falling into silence, he and Astrid continued their patrol around the island, searching for Outcasts even as they pondered over Snotlout's strange behaviour. Eventually, they'd done most of the west side, and Hiccup relaxed in the saddle slightly, "Well, there's no sign of any Outcasts, maybe they weren't here after all…"

"Hiccup!"

He saw Fishlegs and the twins rushing towards him, their dragons flying as fast as possible.

"…or maybe not."

As they flew closer, Fishlegs practically shouted at them, "Hiccup! Snotlout's been captured by Alvin!"

"What!"

* * *

" _Well, that was careless of you._ "

Surrounded as he was by Outcasts, Snotlout couldn't really reply to Ifrit's comment, but Shiva did it for him, " _Now Ifrit, no one was expecting an ambush like that, and its not like he can start flinging magic around, we do still need to keep it a secret._ "

" _Still, couldn't he have put up a better fight than that, and what about the others? They basically flew off and left him!_ "

" _No, they escaped to tell the others and organise a rescue, it would be no good if they'd all been captured together, and besides, it could be worse._ "

" _In what way?_ "

" _He could've been gagged, at least he can still use magic if needed, we just need to wait for the best moment and then use it subtly to escape._ "

While the two summonings argued in his head, Snotlout kept his eyes on Savage.

The other summoner was watching him like a hawk, likely keeping watch for any sort of magic. Behind him, Hookfang was chained to the deck, and the Monstrous Nightmare was eyeing the Outcasts with intent, clearly wanting to set fire to them all.

Savage suddenly strode over and pulled Snotlout forward, checking on his bound hands. As he did so, he spoke quietly in the boy's ear, "Don't even think about trying to escape, I'll stop you with ease."

"How?" Snotlout taunted slightly, "Your earth magic doesn't work without any earth, and we're on a wooden ship. Your magic is useless."

"I can still summon Titan himself boy, and he's got enough brute strength to keep you in your place."

"So, Alvin knows about your abilities then?"

Instead of answering, Savage shoved him back and walked away, and Snotlout smirked.

Looks like he wasn't the only one keeping his magic a secret.

* * *

Time passed slowly, and just when Alvin thought he'd gotten away with it, Hiccup and the others swooped upon them.

Fire blasts rained down, aimed at the ship's various catapults and net launchers, forcing the Outcasts to defend themselves. Snotlout spotted the dragons overhead and he was sure he could hear Fishlegs screaming from where he was.

Ifrit was quick to remind him of the chance he'd been given, " _Quick, while everyone is distracted, you can get yourself free!_ "

Awkwardly manoeuvring his hands, he held his open palm beneath the ropes, muttering quietly, "Candle Flame."

Immediately, the small flame appeared, and he held it as close to the ropes as he could. Soon, the flame burned through and weakened them, allowing him to snap them apart. He leapt to his feet, but an arm latched around him as a rough hand clamped over his mouth. Instinctively, he reached to rip it off but the man holding him tightened his grip and snarled in his ear, "I told Alvin to gag you, but of course, he wouldn't listen to me and you almost escaped."

Naturally, it was Savage.

Snotlout tugged at the man's hand and struggled, but the Outcast held on grimly, "You're not getting away boy, Alvin may only see you as a hostage, but I want your summoning, that way, I'll be more powerful, even more powerful than that other summoner!"

His words seizing his attention, Snotlout momentarily halted his struggles, Shiva's response ringing in his head, " _Other summoner? What other summoner?_ "

The roar of a Nadder, closely followed by a white-hot flame which struck nearby, halted their struggle, and as Savage unintentionally loosened his hold, Snotlout broke free and ran to Hookfang. Some of the places where the chains connected to the deck had already been weakened by fire blast, so, Snotlout dived towards them and held his hand over them, "Fire!"

The spell struck the weak points, breaking them and freeing his dragon. Hookfang reared up with a roar and wasted no time in grabbing his rider before releasing a mighty fire blast and taking to the air.

The other riders saw them escaping, and they also broke off from the ship, turning their flight back towards Berk.

* * *

With two run ins with the Outcasts in a relatively small space of time, Stoick increased watches around Berk, instigating dragon-back patrols.

These patrols fell on top of Dragon Training Academy time, thus taking more of Snotlout's day and cutting back on his summoner training. With this increased time restriction, he worked harder at his training. He'd faced Savage twice and only escaped due to lucky interventions from the others, he had to be stronger if he wanted to stand against him properly.

He'd reached the point where Fire and Blizzard were now quite easy for him to use and Shiva confidently told him that his reservoir of magic power was increasing steadily. They'd now moved onto attempting the more powerful versions of the spells, Fira and Blizzara. These spells could hit harder and in a wider area, making them a definite improvement in general, however, this meant they consumed far more magic and were much harder to produce. So far, Snotlout's attempts hadn't yielded much.

"Blizzara!"

A large cone of ice slowly began to form around a training dummy, but it suddenly halted and disappeared, doing nothing.

Panting heavily, Snotlout sat down, Shiva's calm voice in his mind, " _You were much closer that time, when your magic restores itself a little more, we'll try again._ "

He flopped backwards exhaustedly, "Okay."

As he lay there, Ifrit mused quietly, " _Perhaps we should only focus on Blizzara for the time being, it'll probably be easier then attempting Fira at the same time. That and ice magic is more effective against earth magic than fie magic is anyway._ "

" _That's probably a good idea._ " Shiva agreed, " _Attempting Blizzara is draining more than enough of his magic power on its own._

Snotlout stared up at the sky, "But what about the other summoner Savage mentioned?"

Ifrit sighed, " _For now, we need to focus on Savage, he's the more pressing issue at the moment._ "

"But who do you think the other one is?"

" _It doesn't matter at the moment._ " Shiva responded, " _Let's just worry about one thing at a time and focus on improving your skills._ "

"Fine."

Though he answered with agreement, Snotlout couldn't help but wonder who it was Savage had been talking about.

* * *

It had taken some time to return to Outcast Island, thanks to the damage caused by the dragon attack on the ship, and Savage was in a foul mood.

Once again, he'd almost had the boy when someone else had intervened and ruined it. He needed more summonings if he wanted to achieve his goals, he had no intention on staying a lackey, but he needed more power in order to remove his main obstacles.

He'd left Outcast Island for a while, knowing that Alvin wouldn't miss him for a few days, and set off for a small, little known island some distance away.

It was tiny, barely half a mile across and only bearing a solitary tree in the centre of a grassy bowl at its centre. It held nothing else of note and was effectively useless to everyone, in fact, it wasn't even on many sea charts and was known to practically none.

Savage used it to train his summoning powers in secret and he'd returned to try and train himself more, determined to capture Snotlout for definite the next time they met. He'd get the boy, take his summonings and then set his sights on his next target.

He froze when he saw that another person was on the island.

The man was stood beneath the tree, as if waiting for him, and he smiled at the Outcast, "Why Savage, it's a pleasure to see you again."

Inwardly, Savage was nervous, but he returned the smile, "And the same to you, Viggo."

Viggo gestured to a table and two chairs, set up beneath the tree, and the two men sat across from each other. The man spoke conversationally, "I hear that Alvin has been renewing his attacks upon Berk, has something of interest occurred there?"

Savage simply shrugged, "It seems Berk has found a way to tame dragons, of course Alvin wants a piece of that and he's always wanted to defeat Stoick."

Viggo nodded, "I had heard that Berk was no longer fighting dragons, but I was curious as to whether or not something else of interest had appeared?"

Savage was on guard, he knew what Viggo was insinuating, and he had to be careful with what he said. He waved his hand dismissively, "Not what you're thinking of, you know as well as I do that the last one in that village died years ago."

"But she had a child did she not?"

"To the thick-headed leader of the Jorgenson clan, and all of us know its impossible for one of us to come from that line, regardless of who their mother is." Savage smiled with slight smugness, "And I know that your interference years ago amounted to nothing. One of, your few, failed schemes."

If Savage's jibe affected him, Viggo didn't show it, instead, he leaned forward, "So, you're merely following Alvin's orders like the dutiful lackey you pretend to be? Simply awaiting your chance."

The Outcast eyed him, "Of course, we both came to an agreement a long time ago, you don't meddle in my goals in the Archipelago, and I don't meddle in yours beyond that. We did decide that two summoners warring in the same circles was ultimately pointless, and damaging to your business."

"I remember that agreement very well Savage." Viggo frowned, "I was merely concerned that you weren't attempting to do anything to betray it."

Savage looked him in the eye, "Not unless you are."

They held gazes, neither one wanting to look away first and betraying nothing, until Viggo finally smiled.

"Very well then, long may our agreement stand."

* * *

 _ **PS-Viggo enters the story, and what were he and Savage talking about? Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to another chapter. Apologies for the long wait for this one, I just haven't been that inspired to any sort of writing recently and have gone off and done other things. This chapter throws in more action as yet another summoning bursts into Snotlout's life. This one does leave a lot of unanswered questions so just a heads up. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

Running through the pouring rain, Snotlout rushed for the Great Hall.

He held his arms up over his head, trying to protect it from the endless sheet of water, while Hookfang scurried behind, entirely unhappy with the current weather. They burst into the hall, nearly skidding on the wet patch by the doors, and the Nightmare slammed the door with his tail, shutting the storm outside.

Snotlout wrung his sodden shirt out, only to have his dragon shake even more water over him.

"Hookfang!"

The Nightmare smirked at his rider and sauntered over to join the other dragons in the corner, leaving the scowling boy behind to wring his shirt out once more. That done, he initially made for one of the firepits, only to spot his dad at one with a bunch of other warriors, apparently holding a contest over who could headbutt bits of firewood the hardest.

He was definitely leaving that one well alone.

He changed direction and made for a more out the way table, that currently was occupied by the other riders who were, mostly, discussing the storm.

"I mean, its strange. None of the records show a storm that's lasted this long before." Fishlegs was explaining, "Its not let up for nearly two weeks, that's seriously long guys!"

Hiccup frowned, "I guess, but its not unlikely, this could just be a particularly long one."

"I think you're just over-thinking it Fishlegs." Astrid added, "The whole thing will've likely blown over by tomorrow and its just Berk's usual crazy weather."

The boy shook his head, "I'm sure there's more to it guys, something about this storm feels off."

Trying to slip in unobtrusively, Snotlout sat next to Tuffnut, but Astrid's ever watchful gaze spotted him, "Snotlout, where have you been?"

Hiccup immediately looked concerned, "Don't tell me you've been trying to fly Hookfang in this?"

Snotlout snorted, of course he hadn't been, there's no way Hookfang would ever agree to something as stupid as that. He'd actually been in Ifrit's old cave, practicing magic out of the rain, but it was quite a walk between there and the village, even at a run he'd been soaked through.

Fishlegs of course, hadn't waited for him to give an answer, "But that's incredibly dangerous! With the high winds, minimal visibility and lightning, there's a huge risk to any dragons flying out there, I can't believe you'd ever…"

"Will you shut up Fishface!" The teen snapped, "I haven't been flying Hookfang anywhere so just stop with the stupid lecture!"

" _Snotlout._ "

Shiva's light tone of reproach echoed in his mind, reminding him to be careful. In truth, he was feeling frustrated, ever since his last run in with Savage, he'd been attempting Blizzara but had hit some sort of a block. No matter how many times he tried, or how much power and effort he put into it, the spell would only half-form before dissipating, wasting his magic and strength. With the storm halting Dragon Training, he'd put all his time into practicing but still wasn't getting anywhere, Fire and Blizzard had taken time, but he'd quickly gotten used to them and there'd been obvious improvement, now though, there didn't seem to be any improvement at all.

Unfortunately, Astrid was more than willing to join the exchange, fanning the flames, "What's with you!?"

"With me? What's with you?! I just get here and already you're all snapping and yelling at me like I've done something wrong! Why do you always assume that I've done something stupid!"

"Because its _you_ , you always do something stupid!"

"Okay! Let's just all stop there." Hiccup attempted to play the peacekeeper, "This storm has been going on for awhile and we're all a little frustrated, so let's all calm down and stop shouting at each other."

Snotlout huffed, "Whatever, I've got better things to do anyway."

"What, like 'training'?"

He glared at Astrid, who'd made the comment, "Not all of us have our skills nicely presented on a silver platter Astrid."

With that, he stomped away and out the doors back into the rain.

* * *

Once he'd left, Gobber, who'd been nearby and had heard the exchange, stared after him thoughtfully, "Well, something must be seriously bugging him."

Hiccup looked worried, "You're right, that outburst was strange."

"Its Snotlout." Astrid pointed out, "He's like that all the time."

The blacksmith shook his head, "No, there's 'normal Snotlout' and there's that. He argues like crazy, but it never has that much personal emotion in it, most of the time he seems to be arguing just for the sake of arguing."

He glanced at the teens, "You know, Snotlout has a number of issues in his life, the same as anyone else. You might want to think about that fact from time to time."

With that, he shuffled off towards one of the fires, likely to grab some mead, leaving behind a couple of teenagers pondering over his words.

* * *

Out in the storm, Snotlout held up his hands.

"Blizzara!"

Ice formed into a cone, slowly taking shape, then stopped and disappeared. With a growl, the boy held up his hands again.

"Blizzara!"

Again, the ice formed and vanished, draining him for nothing.

" _Snotlout._ "

He ignored Shiva and tried again.

"Blizzara!"

" _Snotlout!_ "

Once more, the ice formed and disappeared, but the teen gritted his teeth.

"BLIZZARA!"

For the last time, ice materialised and vanished, and this time, the boy fell to his knees, panting heavily. Why couldn't he get this? Why was there no sign of it getting better?

"Snotlout?"

He jumped and whirled around, spotting Hiccup running towards him, Toothless protecting him from the storm with his wings.

"Hiccup! What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for you." The boy answered, "Come back into the Great Hall, its crazy to be out in this!"

Snotlout pulled a face and Hiccup sighed, "Look, I know you probably don't want to go near Astrid right now, but you don't have to sit with us, you can go anywhere else in that hall just so long as you're there."

" _You should listen to him._ " Shiva urged, " _Being out here and draining your magic is not going to do any good, please go back._ "

With a sigh, he relented, "Fine."

He stepped towards him, but Toothless suddenly went defensive and growled upwards towards the sky. A familiar sensation filled him, and Snotlout also looked upwards, for moments, nothing could be seen but the dark clouds.

Then a bolt of lightning struck between them.

All three of them were tossed roughly back, somehow unharmed as the lightning sundered the earth. A mighty, bird-like form seemingly formed from the bolt, towering over them and letting forth a horrific screech, in one swift motion, it lashed down, grabbing Hiccup and taking off in the blink of an eye.

Toothless jumped after it, roaring in rage and firing several plasma blasts as Snotlout scrambled to his feet, "What was that!"

" _Quetzalcoatl! He must be another rogue summoning!_ " Ifrit answered.

" _And he excels at using lightning magic!_ " Shiva added.

He saw Toothless going crazy and dread filled him, "Hiccup…"

Without thought, he leapt onto the Night Fury's back, slamming his foot into the saddle's tailfin controls. Desperate as he was to go after his rider, the dragon instantly took the sky, shunning the weather and the inexperienced rider.

Unfortunately, Quetzalcoatl was fast, somehow outrunning even a Night Fury, though that could be attributed to Snotlout's awkward controlling of the tailfin. Though he never escaped, the summoning was always too far ahead, and the chase dragged on through the raging storm, all the way to Dragon Island.

* * *

Toothless landed heavily, ready in a battle position before Quetzalcoatl.

They were on the peak of Dragon Island, apparently where the summoning had made its nest. Storm clouds swirled unnaturally around the mountain, potentially caused by Quetzalcoatl himself, and the summoning hovered above them, Hiccup upon a stone slab behind him.

Snotlout slipped off the Night Fury's back, staring up at the rogue summoning. Though he was bird-like, Quetzalcoatl had no beak or talons, in fact his body seemed one smooth whole. It was largely yellow but had green edging into its pattern and strange marks covered him. Despite having no obvious eyes, he seemed to look down upon them for a moment, then released a mighty screech and swooped down to attack.

Snotlout dived to one side and rolled, while Toothless went the opposite way and launched a plasma blast.

It impacted squarely upon Quetzalcoatl and the summoning was knocked back slightly, it responded with another screech and a bolt of lightning struck down, which the Night Fury just managed to dodge.

Without hesitation, Snotlout joined the fight.

"Blizzard!"

Ice shattered upon the summoning, causing a look and another lightning blast, rolling to avoid it, the teen heard Ifrit yelling in his head, " _Are you crazy! Do you seriously think you can beat a summoning!?_ "

"He's got Hiccup back there!" The boy argued.

He thrust out his hand, "Fire!"

Flames impacted, receiving a screech and Quetzalcoatl's attention, the summoning fired more lightning and Toothless darted in from the side with another plasma blast, Snotlout followed with another blizzard spell and they continued their constant assault.

However, their hits seemed to be doing little to actually slow Quetzalcoatl down, the summoning just seemed to endure them.

Dodging yet another lightning attack, Snotlout panted heavily as Shiva calmly advised him, " _Listen, your spells are not going to do much to stop him, he's too powerful. You have to summon Ifrit and let him handle Quetzalcoatl, as he does, grab Hiccup and Toothless and go._ "

"But, my magic is getting low, I don't think I'll have enough to do it!" He answered.

" _Just do it kid._ " Ifrit ordered, " _You've got enough in reserve to keep me present long enough._ "

"Okay." He shut his eyes, focusing his power, then, snapped them open.

"IFRIT!"

* * *

Unnoticed at the edge of the battlefield, a man and a wolf watched as the mighty fire spirit materialised and threw himself at Quetzalcoatl.

" _I see, he's summoning Ifrit to keep Quetzalcoatl at bay while he grabs his friend and escapes_."

The man simply nodded at the wolf's comment, "You're right, though I'm not sure how successful it'll be, he's already used a lot of power as it is."

" _Maybe, but doesn't it seem like Quetzalcoatl is fighting him like a serious opponent_."

The man smiled, "Indeed, he seems to be treating this more as a sparring session. He may have been rogue to begin with, but he seems to have settled since coming into contact with the boy. I think Quetzalcoatl has been testing him."

The wolf grinned, " _That's just like him, no explanation, just jump straight into a fight and assume the other person will get it."_ It frowned _, "I guess he'll keep it up until the boy gets close to running out of power then call it a day._ "

"Yeah, that's probably what'll happen."

The fight between Ifrit and Quetzalcotal continued, Snotlout was running towards Hiccup, Toothless close behind, but it was clear that Ifrit's presence was straining him. The man frowned, "He's still not quite powerful enough to maintain a summoning for this long, his power is going to run out soon."

He then gasped, "Wait! What's that?"

He felt a shift, something changing in the boy he was observing. Instead of running for his friend, the teen ran towards the fighting summonings.

"What is he doing!?"

Beside him, the wolf watched in shock, " _Hang on, why can I suddenly sense a huge amount of magic in him, where did it come from!?_ "

The man shot to his feet, "I don't know!"

Before their eyes, Snotlout skidded to a halt before Quetzalcoatl, and the summoning threw Ifrit off and towered over him. Yet the boy stood his ground and held both arms aloft, his voice screaming out.

"BLIZZARA!"

In a flash, a massive, towering column of ice shot upwards, it solidly struck Quetzalcoatl and shattered upon impact, flinging the summoning onto his back.

Hush, fell over the battlefield, and Quetzalcoatl slowly righted himself, he gazed down upon Snotlout and seemed to nod, before simply fading away. Instantly, the swirling storm clouds dissipated, and the two-week long storm came to an end.

Slowly, Snotlout fell to his knees, giving into exhaustion, he collapsed forward, falling unconscious.

Ifrit had long since vanished, and Hiccup hurried over and heaved his cousin onto Toothless' back. Taking to the air, they soared away from the island, leaving behind the man and the wolf.

The pair watched them leave in silence, it wasn't until Toothless was a faint dot on the horizon that the wolf spoke.

" _So, what just happened?_ "

The man frowned, "I'm not sure, I've never seen anything like it. That boy powered up incredibly fast, he had far more magic than he should've done, he can't have done it alone." He sat down thoughtfully, "Not even a spell like Blizzara should be able to do much to a summoning, especially not when its caster hasn't even mastered it yet. That one was far too powerful, its almost like an outside force gave him a major boost."

" _Do think it was the thing Quetzalcoatl was waiting for? He left the moment the boy did it._ "

"Possibly." The man looked up at the sky, "I'm getting the feeling that Quetzalcoatl was never 'rogue', he certainly wasn't fighting with the aim of truly harming the boy. Perhaps someone had sent him to test him."

" _But who? Very few can bring an un-junctioned summoning into the world, and certainly not sustain their presence for two weeks._ "

The man drummed his fingers, "You're right, there are very few who could do that."

A distant roar caught their attention, together, they looked towards the western sky, where the sun was just beginning its descent towards the horizon. Just on the edge of their view, a large, winged shape flew away from the island, shaped like a dragon but far too large to be any that the Vikings had ever encountered. It disappeared beyond the horizon and the man stared after it in awe.

"No way...Bahamut?"

* * *

 _ **PS-So, Snotlout is powering up unexpectedly, Hiccup has likely seen what he can do and there seem to be a lot of agendas kicking about. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter. Once again, it took a long time for me to get around to writing this, but the arrival of the sixth season of Race to the Edge sparked my desire once more, so here we are. This one has the aftermath of the last chapter and a major plot twist. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 10**

With a groan, Snotlout opened his eyes, deciding that he really had to stop ending up unconscious.

He sat up, dimly registering that he was in his own bed, as he rifled through his memories, trying to find why he'd been knocked out.

Two-week storm, failing at casting Blizzara, snapping at Astrid, Quetzalcoatl, Hiccup…Hiccup!

His eyes snapped to the side of the bed, to find his cousin sat in a chair beside him, watching him carefully. He unintentionally gulped, as Ifrit commented quietly, " _Yes, I was thinking this could be a problem._ "

Snotlout grinned awkwardly, "Hiccup! What are you doing here?"

The other boy was giving him an unamused look, which was mirrored by the ever-present Night Fury behind him, "Because I was hoping you might have a rational explanation for what happened."

Snotlout attempted to stall, "Rational explanation? For what?"

"Oh, I don't know." The boy responded sarcastically, "Maybe the giant lightning-bird, or you flinging fire and ice like crazy, or maybe you could explain how in Thor's name you managed to summon a giant, fire monster from nowhere!"

" _Now that's just rude!_ "

Ignoring Ifrit, the dark-haired teen chuckled nervously, "Actually, 'summon' pretty much sums it all up."

Hiccup glared and growled slightly, and Snotlout sighed, "How many people know?"

His cousin pinched the bridge of his nose, "Right now, just me and Toothless." He looked up at him, "But I need an explanation Snotlout, a truthful one."

" _Snotlout._ " Shiva's voice echoed quietly in his mind, " _Its best to tell him, there's no way you can explain it away and having another who knows might help greatly._ "

Though he didn't speak out loud, Snotlout agreed, Hiccup had seen more than enough, he wasn't going to be satisfied with anything except the full truth…stupid Quetzalcoatl, ruining all his secrecy.

With a deep breath, he told Hiccup everything.

* * *

"…and that's just about everything really."

His explanation finished, Snotlout watched his cousin warily. To his credit, Hiccup had remained impassive throughout the whole thing, neither interrupting nor scoffing at him, and now he stared at him thoughtfully. He remained silent for a while, just long enough for Snotlout to start fidgeting uncomfortably, before finally speaking, "You said Shiva and Ifrit can speak to you all the time?"

Snotlout simply nodded.

"Is there any way I can hear him them as well?"

The dark-haired teen gaped for a moment, until his brain caught up and started moving his mouth, "Erm…well…I don't think so, not without me summoning them anyway."

" _Actually, there is a way._ "

Shiva spoke carefully, " _If you make physical contact, we can use that to project our voices into Hiccup's mind as well, but it won't work unless you're touching each other._ "

"Snotlout?"

The young summoner realised he'd spaced out slightly as he listened to Shiva, he glanced at Hiccup, "Shiva say's you can if we make physical contact."

The other boy raised an eyebrow, "Okay…"

They sat quietly for a moment, then Hiccup held out his hand, clearly indicating for his cousin to take it. Slightly hesitantly, Snotlout did so, and spoke out when they were holding hands, "Okay Shiva, go ahead."

" _Hiccup, can you hear me?_ "

The dragon rider pulled a face, "Okay, that is really weird." He glanced at Snotlout, "You have that in your head all the time?"

The summoner shrugged, "Only when they're talking, Ifrit's the worst for chatting away when you really don't want him to."

" _Hey! Don't deny that you find some of my comments amusing._ " He addressed Hiccup, " _And you're welcome by the way, for helping save you from Quetzalcoatl and all._ "

"Quetzalcoatl?"

"The giant lightning-bird." Snotlout reminded him, "I mentioned his name when I explained everything earlier."

"Oh yeah." Hiccup frowned, "So, Snotlout is a summoner, you guys have been training him, and Savage is also a summoner and is after you, is that everything?"

" _And there are rogue summonings being dragged into the world by someone and generally rampaging._ " Ifrit finished, " _That pretty much sums it up._ "

Hiccup looked at his cousin, "And you've been dealing with all of this by yourself? Why didn't you say anything!?"

" _Hey, me and Shiva have been helping him!_ " Ifrit declared indignantly.

Hiccup sighed, "I know, its just…" He looked at Snotlout again, "Why not tell any of the rest of us?"

Snotlout looked away, "Hiccup, before mom died, she told me that I had to keep the mark on my arm secret, the mark that showed that Shiva was my summoning. She made it clear that no one, not even my dad, could ever know." He sighed, "She knew exactly what I was, and I think she was scared of what would happen if people found out. I mean, could you imagine how Berk would react if they discovered I could cast ice magic with just a word, never mind summoning powerful beings." He glanced at the door to his room, "And something tells me that dad definitely won't like it."

If Hiccup was about to answer him, they never discovered what he would've said, for at that moment, the alarm horn blared over the village.

* * *

Tumbling out of the house, the two boys rushed over to where Stoick was listening to the babbled report of a scared watchman.

"I'm telling you Stoick, there's a giant heading to the village!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" The chief practically shouted back, "There's no way a giant is about to attack!"

As if to prove him wrong, a massive boulder fell out of the sky and smashed into the ground nearby. People cried out in shock and Stoick turned his gaze in the direction it'd come from. Rumbling footsteps shook the earth beneath them, shaking loose debris left by the recently ceased storm. Remembering Snotlout telling him about Savage's summoning, Titan, Hiccup immediately looked to him for clarification on whether that was what was coming, only to find that the boy had vanished.

He glanced frantically around for the other teen, "Snotlout!"

The gathered people heard him, and the watchman grabbed his helmet horns in fear, "Don't tell me he's gone to face the giant alone!"

"What!" Stoick also looked swiftly around, seeing that the boy had definitely disappeared, he faced Hiccup, "Get the other riders and find him! He's only just woken up after you brought him back, there's no way he can handle whatever is attacking!"

* * *

" _This is a completely, stupid, reckless, and suicidal decision!_ "

Snotlout ignored Ifrit's words, pounding towards the arena where Hookfang was waiting.

Shiva also tried to talk him out of it, " _Snotlout, you haven't fully recovered your magic after facing Quetzalcoatl, you can't face Savage alone!_ "

"I have to Shiva!" He snapped back, "If he's summoning Titan to attack Berk, then he's done being subtle. If he's openly using his powers, then I'm the only one who stands a chance."

He charged into the arena, calling for his dragon, "HOOKFANG!"

Recognising the urgency, the Nightmare burst out of his stable and within moments, they were in the air and flying towards where Titan should be. Powering his wings as fast as possible, Hookfang was soon soaring over Berk's forest, and it wasn't long before they spotted Titan's large figure, hurling boulders towards the village.

As they approached, the boy leaned close to his dragon's head, "Okay Hookfang, we swoop down, and you blast him in the face as I throw spells at him."

The Nightmare rumbled in acknowledgement and began to dive, shutting out Shiva and Ifrit's screams of protest, Snotlout focused on the giant, preparing to launch his spells at the right moment. They plummeted like a stone, heading straight for Titan and ready to attack.

Then they heard the sound of a bola launching.

Before they could react, it struck like a lightning bolt, snatching Hookfang out of the air and flinging Snotlout from the saddle. The boy plummeted with a scream, only to be caught by Titan, who flung him at the waiting Savage.

The Outcast Summoner, deftly caught him, and quickly had the boy pinned beneath him, hand clamped over Snotlout's mouth to block his magic. As the teen struggled and squirmed, Savage grinned, "Finally got you! I should've just gone with this plan from the beginning!"

He produced a strange gem and gloated triumphantly, "I didn't realise until recently that I could just use this thing to take your summonings, I thought I had to capture you and then undergo a lengthy ritual. Now though, just a swift grab will do the trick."

He brought the gem closer, "Now, I would say 'this won't hurt a bit' but I genuinely don't know if it will or not."

He pressed it to the back of Snotlout's head.

* * *

With the other riders following close behind, Hiccup and Toothless soared over the forest, trying desperately to catch up to Snotlout.

For some reason, the boulder attack on the village had stopped, leaving them to search for their wayward member the old-fashioned way. While good for the village, Hiccup couldn't help but feel that the sudden stop to the assault was not a good sign.

Astrid suddenly gave a shout, "Hiccup, below us!"

Immediately, the boy looked down and saw Savage and Snotlout right below them, Hookfang was tangled in a bola some distance away and it was clear that his cousin was in serious trouble. Swiftly, he gave orders, "Fishlegs, you and the twins free Hookfang, Astrid, get back to Berk and tell my father that Savage is responsible for the attack, I'll get Snotlout."

Without awaiting a reply, he and Toothless dived, heading straight for Savage. They couldn't risk a plasma blast with Snotlout there, but they could slam the outcast off his captive. However, Titan burst onto the scene and swung a mighty arm at the Night Fury, forcing Toothless into a hasty dodge that wasn't quite enough to completely avoid the strike.

The hefty fist glanced off Toothless' side, throwing Hiccup off his back and causing them both to tumble to the ground. Fortunately, they weren't too far up and, while painful, the fall wasn't enough to cause severe injury. Toothless instantly got to his feet and roared at the summoning, attracting his attention with a plasma blast.

Hiccup snapped his focus on Savage, the Outcast was pressing something against the back of his cousin's head, causing the boy to squirm in pain. Without thinking, Hiccup charged.

Regardless of the clear size and strength difference, the boy sprinted towards the Outcast, determined to get him away from Snotlout. He launched himself at the man, grabbing the object in his hands and attempting to wrestle it away from him. The moment he touched it, a strange power surged through him and he yelled in shock, Savage screamed equally loud and the power surged violently.

It flung them all back.

* * *

A deathly hush fell over the forest.

Savage, Snotlout and Hiccup lay sprawled on the ground, somewhat stunned but awake.

Snotlout groaned, whatever Savage had done, it had felt like his innermost being was being ripped apart, and while physically unharmed, his body felt like it had been beaten to a pulp.

" _Gods that hurt._ "

Wait, what was that voice, it wasn't Shiva or Ifrit, who was it? It seemed to be inside his head.

"Who is that?"

"What?"

He hauled himself up, to find that Hiccup had just done the same, his cousin was rubbing his head as Toothless nuzzled him in concern, Titan having apparently vanished.

" _Did I imagine it?_ "

"Imagine what?"

Snotlout clutched his head, "I think I imagined someone other than Shiva and Ifrit speaking in my head."

Wait a minute, he hadn't said anything out loud. He looked up in horror and then did something completely ridiculous, hoping he was very wrong, " _Hiccup?_ "

"Yes?"

Snotlout gaped, then pointed wildly at his cousin, "You're reading my thoughts!"

"What! There's no way I can be!"

Snotlout stubbornly shut his mouth, and answered only in his mind, " _Yes, you are!_ "

This time, Hiccup gaped, then he too, slammed his mouth shut, " _Can you hear mine?_ "

"Yes!" Snotlout stared at him, "I totally heard that in my head!"

Hiccup clutched his head in his hands, "Oh Thor, please tell me this isn't happening! It's just a ridiculous dream."

" _Sorry to add to the insanity, but me and Shiva seem to be somehow connected to both of you._ "

As Ifrit's voice echoed in his mind, Snotlout watched Hiccup react and felt fear grip him once more, one which was confirmed by his cousin, "Snotlout, I just heard Ifrit in my head."

" _And I'm here as well._ " Shiva added, " _I'm not sure how, but whatever happened when you leapt at Savage has caused your minds to connect up, me and Ifrit can now speak to both of you, even if you're not touching._ "

"Savage!"

At Hiccup's exclamation, Snotlout remembered that the Outcast summoner should be nearby, he swiftly scanned the area around them, only to find the man long gone.

" _Of course, he got away._ "

Hiccup's thought sounded in his head, and Snotlout sighed, "Yep, and he's taken that weird gem with him."

" _Typical of our luck._ " He thought.

"Our luck isn't that bad, Snotlout."

As Hiccup replied to his thought, Snotlout gave a sound of frustration, "Okay, this is stupid. Having two summonings talking in my head I can handle, but having a four-way conversation, where half of it is in my mind is way too confusing!"

"How do you think I feel!" Hiccup snapped, "I've never had anyone talking in my head until today. You're at least experienced with it."

" _Okay boys, calm down._ " Shiva mediated, " _This is incredibly difficult for all of us, but getting freaked out and shouting at each other is not going to solve anything. Both of you take a deep breath and relax._ "

They did as she asked, and she sighed in relief, " _Good, now, let's firstly sort out if it is only thoughts you two are sharing. Hiccup, pull up your sleeves._ "

"What, why?"

" _Please, just do it._ "

Slowly, he obeyed, and gasped at what he saw, "What, where did these come from!?"

He showed the marks to Snotlout, and the boy also gasped, "But, those are Ifrit and Shiva's marks, why do you have them?"

He immediately wrenched off his bracers, finding the same marks where they'd always been on his own arms. Shiva spoke softly, " _Yes, it seems my suspicions were correct._ " She paused before continuing, " _It seems, you somehow both have me and Ifrit junctioned._ "

"But, how? Hiccup isn't even a summoner!"

" _I don't know Snotlout._ " She answered, " _But whatever happened with that gem has caused you both to have us junctioned. Nothing like this has ever happened before, and I can't tell how connected it has made you two. We are dealing with entirely unknown territory here._ "

"Great!" Snotlout threw up his hands in the air, "Is there any way to fix it?"

Shiva hesitated before answering, " _Until we know more, no, there isn't._ "

" _Of course, there isn't._ "

Realising they'd both thought the exact same thing at the same time, Hiccup and Snotlout looked at each other, and groaned.

* * *

 _ **PS-So, Savage's hit-and-run plan went completely belly-up, and Hiccup and Snotlout are now a little bit more connected than they'd like. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and welcome to another chapter. This one focuses on Hiccup and Snotlout working out a little more about their connection and what it can do, and to what extent Hiccup can use magic. Thank you all for your continued support and patience and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 11**

" _So, do you think your dad bought our story?_ "

It took all of Hiccup's self-control to not visually react to Snotlout's, telepathically transmitted question, " _I think so, though he's pretty mad at you, as expected._ "

" _Hey, I did what I did to help._ "

" _What you did was completely irresponsible, reckless and stupid._ "

" _I've already had a, really loud, lecture from your dad, I don't need another one from you in my head!_ "

" _Well I wouldn't be able to even give you one in your head if you hadn't charged off like a crazy person!_ "

" _Will both of you please_ _ **stop**_ _!_ " Ifrit snarled, " _Your telepathic argument is driving me crazy!_ "

"Son?"

Hiccup jolted slightly, and realised he'd entirely stopped listening to his father, distracted by his cousin's constant voice in his head.

The upheaval of the day had given way to a, much calmer, night, and, despite the insanity they were going through, Hiccup and Snotlout had separated to their respective homes. However, the distance between them didn't seem to do anything to reduce their telepathic connection, they could still clearly hear each other's voices in their heads, as well as Ifrit and Shiva.

On the plus side, they had already discovered a few things about the link.

While telepathic, they couldn't use it to pry around in each other's memories. The only things that seemed to be 'hearable', were surface thoughts, deeper thoughts like memories were inaccessible unless deliberately brought to the surface by their owner. They also had a degree of control over what got sent to the other, now aware of the connection, they could filter what did and didn't get sent telepathically, to the point where thoughts would only go to the other cousin if the sender was deliberately sending them. It was good news in terms of their own privacy, they at least weren't sharing absolutely everything with each other unwilfully, but the occasional thing, usually some sort of emotion, slipped through from time to time, so it wasn't perfect.

"Are you alright Hiccup?"

His father's voice returned him to reality, and Hiccup grinned, "Yeah, sorry. Just a lot on my mind."

" _Well, that's one way of putting it._ "

The teen ignored Ifrit's unhelpful comment, and his father, apparently satisfied with his answer, lapsed into silence and Hiccup took the opportunity to continue his silent conversation with his cousin.

" _Snotlout, we have to work this thing out as soon as possible._ "

" _Well duh!_ " Came back the sarcastic reply, " _We have to know to what extent you can use Ifrit and Shiva's powers, and maybe find a way to break this ridiculous connection._ "

" _Okay, after academy training tomorrow, we'll find somewhere to work this out._ "

" _Perfect, I know just where we can go._ "

* * *

The cave was deep, and Hiccup was surprised it had existed on the island and yet remained unnoticed.

" _I don't think it existed until Ifrit made it._ "

He looked to Snotlout, "You know, you don't have to speak telepathically, I am right here."

The other boy smirked, "But its fun messing with your head."

"You've done enough of that at training today." Hiccup sighed, "Do you know how distracting it was having you comment in my mind on everything?"

" _Yes._ "

The older boy groaned at his cousin's predictable, and telepathic, answer, but didn't respond as they reached the large cavern Ifrit had carved out. Snotlout, almost casually, held his hand out to one of the torches he'd fixed in the wall, "Fire."

Instantly, flames struck the torch head, lighting it instantly and casting long shadows up the wall. Though he'd seen his magic before, it still caused Hiccup to start a little and his cousin smirked again but didn't comment.

As expected, Shiva began proceedings, " _Now then, our first order of business should be working out exactly what powers Hiccup has access to. We know he is connected to us and Snotlout at all times, and distance doesn't seem to do much to reduce the connection so far._ "

" _Why don't we have Hiccup attempt to summon one of us?_ " Ifrit suggested, " _That'll really prove if he can summon us now or not._ "

There was silence for a moment as Shiva seemed to consider it, then she responded carefully, " _Yes, I believe that is a good idea._ "

"Wait, hang on!" Snotlout cut in, "Summoning one of you guys takes lots of magic power, are you sure he'll have enough to do it?"

" _We won't linger long._ " She answered, " _And if it seems too much, I can retreat before it gets too dangerous._ "

" _I guess that means you're volunteering to be summoned then._ " There was a hint of a smile in Ifrit's voice, " _Unsurprising._ "

Hiccup stared at his cousin, "Wait, you want me to try summoning one of you right now!? Wouldn't it be better to work up to that?"

" _Every summoner has to call their summoning at least once before they can truly use their powers._ " Shiva responded, " _You may have potentially received your powers unconventionally, but we should maybe stick with the norm as much as possible._ "

"Yeah, because this is completely normal."

She ignored his sarcastic comment, " _Now, summoning me is really quite simple, you just have to speak my name with the intention of calling me. You actually have an advantage in that you know I exist and can speak to me, most summoners can't speak to their summoning until they've summoned them once._ " She addressed the other teen, " _Snotlout, stand back a little please, remember that we're not fully sure how this'll go._ "

The boy grumbled but did as he was told, and Hiccup couldn't resist a comment, " _Wow, we've actually found someone you'll listen to._ "

"Shut up Hiccup!"

" _Boys!_ " Shiva spoke warningly, then continued her instructions, " _When you attempt to summon me, you might want to take some sort of stance to help focus your thoughts. Just some sort of physical action to help you inject intent into my name._ "

Hiccup took a breath, then held his arms out in front of him and crossed his wrists.

" _What kind of pose is that?_ "

" _Snotlout, stop heckling!_ " Shiva snapped.

" _He does have a point…_ "

" _The same goes for you Ifrit!_ "

Ignoring the conversation in his head, Hiccup focused his thoughts, preparing himself. The rest of the audience dealt with, Shiva spoke calmly in his mind, " _Anytime you're ready Hiccup._ "

Taking another deep breath, Hiccup spoke strongly, "Shiva!"

He didn't know what it was, but he felt…something, like a shift in the air around him. The temperature slightly dropped, and ice swiftly spread across a patch of floor in front of him. Suddenly, a spire of ice shot out of it and shattered, revealing the pale, blue-clad form of Shiva.

Hiccup gaped, lost for words at the sight of the ice summoning and he could sense Snotlout's surprise and awe. Shiva looked down upon him and smiled, " _Well, you managed that quicker than I thought you would._ "

He blinked, then managed to formulate an answer, "So, this is what you actually look like?"

She shrugged, " _For the moment, we summonings can take on different forms if we choose, I just prefer this one._ " She then frowned, " _That's odd…_ "

" _You've noticed too?_ " Ifrit inquired.

She nodded, " _Yes, I have._ " She glanced at Hiccup, " _I must return, the magic maintaining my presence will run out soon._ "

Hiccup looked confused, "But, I feel fine."

Ifrit spoke quietly, " _You're not who we're worried about, look at Snotlout._ "

His eyes immediately went to his cousin, and he saw the other boy sat down, panting heavily as if he'd sprinted a race.

"Snotlout!"

Hiccup hurried to his side, barely noticing Shiva disappearing behind him. As he knealt beside the teen, the ice spirit's voice echoed in his mind, " _This is not good. Even though you summoned me, it was his magic pool that was being drained, and it was draining faster than normal._ "

"What do you mean?"

She explained gently, " _All summoners have a store of magic in their bodies, this is what they use to use their powers. It replenishes itself over time as they rest, eat and drink, like physical strength, but any spell or summoning takes from that reserve. More often than not, these actions drain the store, in short, using spells and summoning us makes a summoner tired, and overexertion leads to collapse or even death._ "

"Will he be okay?"

" _Don't worry kid._ " Ifrit reassured him, " _Shiva returned before we got close to that stage, he just needs to rest for a bit and he'll be fine._ "

" _However, we have to be careful._ " Shiva spoke warningly, " _It seems that you draw from Snotlout's magic pool for spells and summonings, perhaps because you don't have natural magic of your own. Use too much, and you'll be putting him in danger. We'll have to keep that in mind._ "

* * *

Hiccup lay awake that night, his mind focused on what had happened.

Shiva and Ifrit were certain that he could do everything a normal summoner could. Once Snotlout had regained a little magic, they'd taught him to use Candleflame and he'd managed it almost instantly. They theorised that since his and Snotlout's minds were connected, he already had instinctive knowledge of the spells his cousin knew, making them easier for him to perform. However, this only worked for the ones Snotlout could use already, he'd likely have to learn anything new normally.

Because he used his cousin's magic pool, they did minimal spellcasting, and Hiccup decided that he'd leave most of the magic to Snotlout. The other teen's magic pool, though growing with training, was not big enough to support two summoners using it regularly, the best way to regulate it was for Hiccup to reserve it for emergencies only, a course of action all believed was best.

He also had other concerns, Snotlout had told him about Savage being a summoner and the fact he'd escaped was worrying. They had no idea where he'd gone, whether or not he was still with Alvin, and if he still had the gem, he could try and take Shiva and Ifrit again.

" _Hiccup, stop thinking about it. Your tiredness is causing your thoughts to be sent my way and I can't sleep!_ "

His cousin's irritated voice rudely cut across his thoughts, and the teen grinned ruefully.

" _Sorry._ "

" _Whatever, just stop thinking and sleep!_ "

With a grin, Hiccup turned over and attempted to do just that.

* * *

"DAMN IT **!** "

Savaged flung the, now useless, gem into the ocean. His plan had been completely destroyed, and right when he'd been so close.

He growled, he would now be forced to capture the boy and undergo a longer, far more time-consuming ritual in order to take his summonings from him. The gem had been a one-shot that was now wasted, and he was very unlikely to find another, having already exhausted his favours and contacts in order to get it in the first place.

He paced angrily, he needed more summonings if he was to take on Viggo. He knew that their 'agreement' only stood because nothing had tipped the balance in either summoner's favour. At the moment, a conflict between them would only result in chaos, damaging his plans and Viggo's business, an undesirable result for both of them. However, if he had more power on his side, he could outmatch the hunter, allowing him to expand his influence and gain control of more.

He needed that boy.

* * *

 _ **PS-So, Hiccup can use magic but only if Snotlout has enough in reserve to supply the power for it. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and sorry for the long wait since the last update. Unfortunately, this chapter is quite a bit shorter than the others, but I felt it was best to leave it where it was. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 12**

" _I know a song that'll get on your nerves, get on your nerves, get on your nerves. I know a song that'll get on your…"_

" _Snotlout!_ "

Hiccup shouted telepathically in frustration at his cousin, he turned and shot a glare at the boy, but the other rider just smirked. Hiccup sighed and looked forward once more.

They'd been sent on a patrol around Berk and Snotlout had decided to make the monotonous task more interesting by mentally annoying his cousin. Since none of the others could hear what was going on, Hiccup couldn't really react, and he hadn't been able to do much to stop the boy.

He then smirked himself.

Two can play that game.

He sent across a memory and waited for the reaction.

"Ergh!"

He looked round once more, and saw Snotlout pulling a disgusted face, the other riders also glanced at him, confused as to his sudden outburst of disgust. Snotlout noticed and quickly scowled, "What!?"

The others immediately looked away again, some rolling their eyes at his attitude, and Hiccup grinned as his cousin glared at him.

" _Really Hiccup, you had to make me see that!?_ "

He didn't respond.

" _And how do you have that memory anyway!?_ "

Hiccup answered this time, " _I'd arrived early at the forge one day and Gobber hadn't realised._ "

" _I think I'm now scarred for life._ "

" _Isn't that slightly overdramatic?_ "

" _I saw his underwear Hiccup, his_ _ **underwear**_ _!_ "

Hiccup was hard-pressed to suppress his laughter at the horror in his cousin's voice, but he still manged to respond, " _Then maybe you shouldn't keep trying to annoy me telepathically._ "

It had been a couple of weeks since 'the link', as the cousins were calling it, and Savage, and the other Outcasts, had been fairly quiet. In that time, they'd been further investigating just how much of Snotlout's magic Hiccup could use. It seemed that Hiccup could quickly get a handle on any spells that Snotlout already knew, but new ones were impossible for him unless Snotlout learned them first. So, not only did his magic use depend on his cousin's reserve of power, but it also depended upon his store of magical knowledge.

In short, if Snotlout couldn't perform a spell, then Hiccup couldn't either.

In this regard, the connection between them was more parasitic in Hiccup's favour than symbiotic. Hiccup gained magical abilities with little effort on his part, but they were limited to what Snotlout could do.

Due to the way the link worked, Shiva and Ifrit had changed focus from spellcasting to increasing Snotlout's magic reservoir. With two people drawing from the same source, it had to be larger to accommodate the strain so the more power available, the better.

Of course, they had to balance this training with the Dragon Academy and their friends, resulting in a very difficult balancing act.

Having completed their patrol route, Hiccup nodded in satisfaction, "Okay guys, everything checks out, let's head back and tell dad."

" _Finally!_ "

He ignored Snotlout's telepathic response and guided Toothless to turn his flight towards Berk, the others following suit behind him, when there came a whooshing sound.

Whipping his head in the direction it came from, Hiccup saw a strange object flying towards them. Shiva's voice resounded in his head, " _Hiccup, get everyone out the way of that thing, NOW!_ "

Immediately, he shot out the command, "Evasive manoeuvres!"

Snotlout had heard Shiva, so he and Hookfang were already diving, the others promptly responded to Hiccup's command, and all of them were well out of the way of the projectile. It flew into the space they'd just been, and they just had time to recognise it as a slightly strange fireball before it exploded.

"Is it a dragon!?"

Astrid was already scanning the area below, searching for their attacker, but Hiccup still nodded, "It has to be."

" _Not this time._ "

Ifrit spoke confidently, " _That was definitely came from a summoner, though I don't think it was meant to hit us._ "

" _Are you kidding!_ " Snotlout snapped, " _How was that not supposed to hit us!?_ "

" _It came too obviously._ " The fire spirit responded, " _Plus, even if it had hit, it wouldn't have hurt you, those flames aren't meant for attacking._ "

" _What are you talking about?_ "

"Hiccup!"

Astrid's shout pulled him out of the mental conversation, and he quickly refocused, "Astrid, you, Fishlegs and the twins take hang back as cover, me and Snotlout will head down to where that fireball came from. We'll see if we can identify what flung it at us."

"What! Hiccup, that's a terrible idea!"

He shot the protesting Snotlout a quick grin, "I thought you liked terrible ideas."

Even as he said this, he quickly sent a different message through the link, " _Since it's a summoner, its probably better if we handle it._ "

Snotlout glowered, responding to his cousin's spoke retort, "Not if they're going to get me killed!"

However, his telepathic response was quite different, " _Fine, but if they want a fight, then I'm taking the lead._ "

" _Okay._ "

Carefully, they guided their dragons down towards the fireball's point of origin, the others reluctantly taking on the role of back-ups. As they flew slowly down, Ifrit gave them his theory on what was going on. " _I've seen those flames before, they're the work of the summoning known as Phoenix. However, unlike my flames, Phoenix's fire isn't used for fighting, in fact, they're very good at healing wounds and bolstering people's physical abilities. That's what I meant when I said the fireball wouldn't hurt you._ "

" _But they're also very good for attracting our attention._ " Hiccup answered.

" _So, this summoner wants our attention._ " Snotlout continued, " _Why?_ "

"Let's ask them."

Hiccup nodded downwards, and Snotlout turned his gaze in that direction, seeing the girl stood waiting for them.

" _Wow!_ "

Hiccup sighed, knowing exactly why his cousin had said that, but didn't comment. As the two dragons landed, the girl backed off slightly and Hiccup held up his hands placatingly, "Its okay, they won't hurt you."

She seemed to settle slightly and Snotlout slid off Hookfang and grinned at her, "Hey, Snotlout Jorgenson, answering your message."

" _Oh, please no._ " Ifrit groaned, " _I do not want to suffer through teenage flirting._ "

The girl spoke hesitantly, "I…I don't know what you mean."

Hiccup frowned, "The big fireball that was just flung at us, that was you, wasn't it?"

She became noticeably nervous, "What…what are you talking about?"

Snotlout just grinned, "Its okay babe, look." He held out his hand and spoke confidently, "Candleflame."

Immediately, a flame appeared upon the palm of his hand. The girl gazed at it in awe, "You're one as well…" She smiled, "I didn't think I'd meet another summoner out here."

Snotlout extinguished the flame with a flourish, "No sweat babe. What's your name?"

"Heather, and my summoning is Phoenix."

"Well, mine are Shiva and Ifrit."

She stared at Snotlout in amazement, "You have two summonings?"

The teen postured, "Well…yeah, I am kind of awesome."

" _Really, do we really have to put up with this._ " Ifrit grumbled, " _Seriously kid, tone it down a bit!_ "

Heather looked to Hiccup, "And who's your summoning?"

Snotlout was about to cut in and answer, but Hiccup quickly responded before he could, "Oh, I'm not a summoner. I just know about them because of Snotlout."

Snotlout looked at him in confusion and Hiccup answered his look telepathically, " _Snotlout, I think we should keep our link a secret from her. Just pretend I can't do any magic at all._ "

The boy frowned then shrugged, before turning to Heather, "Anyway, what are you doing out here?"

She looked down, "I was…shipwrecked here. I've been using my magic to help me survive for the last couple of days, but its only really good for scaring things since Phoenix's flames can't actually hurt anything. That's why I threw that fireball at you, I thought you were a group of wild dragons and I was trying to scare you off."

Snotlout smiled, "Well, no harm done. You should come back to Berk with us, we might be able to help you get back home, or whatever."

"Really?"

Both of them looked at Hiccup, and the teen stuttered, "Yes, yes you should. It'll be better than staying here."

She beamed thankfully, "Thank you, thank you so much."

Snotlout waved his hand casually, "Its nothing." He quickly remounted Hookfang and held his hand down for her, "Want to ride with me? Don't worry, it's safe."

She hesitated, then smiled, "I'd love to Snotlout."

He pulled her up behind him and she wrapped her arms around him, causing the teen to grin stupidly in delight. He sent a telepathic message Hiccup's way, " _Hiccup, isn't this awesome! She's totally falling for me._ "

" _Yes, I'm sure your boundless charms will win her heart._ "

The other teen seemed completely oblivious to Hiccup's sarcastic tone, " _I know!_ "

Hiccup sighed.

* * *

 _ **PS-Enter Heather, who has the summoning Phoenix. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to another chapter that took far too long to write. This continues on from last time and another little plot thread begins to get hinted at this time around. Thank you for your continued support and patience with the long gap between updates, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

"Wow, you train here?"

"Yep, an awesome place for an awesome person."

" _Please stop, just stop!_ "

Ignoring Ifrit's groans, Snotlout leaned casually against the cavern wall and snapped his fingers at one of the torches.

"Fire."

Immediately, the torch lit, and Heather looked on in awe, "That's amazing, Phoenix's flames can't even do that."

The boy shrugged, "Well, it's no problem for someone like me."

" _It still took you nearly a week to get that spell to work._ "

Once again, Snotlout ignored Ifrit, and continued his conversation with Heather, "So, what can Phoenix's flames do?"

She smiled, "Well, they let me increase my own strength, like this."

She briefly closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, "Bolster."

A light, fiery aura surrounded her, and Snotlout could sense the magic flowing through her, even from where he was. Heather smiled at him, then strode confidently over to a large rock, with ease, she lifted and threw it into one of the training dummies that were set up, smashing it to pieces.

Snotlout couldn't help but gape, "That was awesome!"

She blushed, "Well, your magic is far more impressive." She stepped closer, "Didn't you say you could use ice magic as well?"

The boy grinned.

* * *

The days passed, and Heather and Snotlout were spending a lot of time together.

For his part, Hiccup was growing suspicious, Heather's excuse of being 'shipwrecked' just seemed a little too convenient, and what were the chances of them just coming across another summoner?

Unfortunately, Snotlout was completely deaf to his concerns, apparently so taken by the female summoner he couldn't see the obvious problems with her story.

In a way, he understood, the only other summoner his cousin had met was Savage, who was trying to capture him, and Hiccup only had similar abilities due to an accident. It was little surprise then that Snotlout would be enamoured with the first 'friendly' summoner he met, and the fact she was an, admittedly, good-looking girl and he was a teenage boy certainly didn't help.

But it was still too convenient.

" _I agree with you on that._ "

Shiva's voice spoke softly in his mind, and Hiccup sighed, "I know, but there's no way I can convince Snotlout of it."

" _Unfortunately, he's not listening to me about it either, and Ifrit is too focused on despairing about his terrible flirting techniques._ "

"The other problem is that she hasn't actually done anything wrong or suspicious, all we have are our own thoughts."

The ice spirit sighed, " _Indeed, we can't exactly bring any proof that she has ill intent, but I still can't help feel that she does. There's a purpose in her words, a faint hint of deception that suggests a scheme, one I'm sure is not to our benefit._ "

"Well, I guess we'll just have to keep a close eye on her."

" _Indeed._ "

* * *

"So, where are we going?"

Heather smiled coyly at his question, "A beach on the far side of the island, there's a skill Phoenix gives me that I want to show you."

"Couldn't you just show me at the cave?"

She shook her head, "No, it's a little dramatic." She winked, "Besides, the beach is a little more…romantic."

At that, Snotlout grinned stupidly and eagerly followed her.

" _Snotlout, there's definitely something up here._ " Shiva spoke warningly in his head.

" _C'mon, when are you going to accept that Heather is a friend?_ " He responded.

" _Snotlout, I agree with her._ " Ifrit put in, " _Why would she suddenly ask you to follow her to a far away, isolated beach without Hookfang or anyone else?_ "

The boy shook his head, " _Because its romantic, like she said. Its obvious she's going to ask to go steady with me._ "

" _You lovestruck twit! She's playing you like a harp!_ "

The teen glowered at Ifrit's words, " _What would you guys know!_ "

He shut the summonings out as Heather turned to him, "Well, here we are."

* * *

" _Hiccup! You have to get to us, right now!_ "

The boy nearly jumped out of his skin as Shiva suddenly shouted in his head. Swiftly, he focused on answering, " _Why, what's happening?_ "

" _Your stubborn cousin is stupidly walking into Heather's trap and completely ignoring us._ " Ifrit explained roughly.

Immediately, Hiccup called Toothless, " _Where is he?_ "

* * *

This was so easy it was laughable.

All she had to do was play the part of the sweet, damsel-in-distress and Snotlout was putty in her hands. Seriously, what idiot followed a stranger to an isolated place, especially when they knew said stranger could use magic?

Heather kept her shy look on, despite scoffing internally at the moron before her as she put the final pieces into place, " _Are you ready Phoenix?_ "

" _Indeed, my dear._ " The summoning responded.

"So, what's this skill you want to show me?"

She made sure to look nervous as she answered Snotlout, "Well, I'm not sure if you'll actually find it that impressive…"

"Sure, I will, all of your magic is impressive." He winked at her.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she instead smiled sweetly, "Thanks Snotlout."

"Snotlout!"

Heather internally cursed, she knew Hiccup was getting suspicious, but she didn't expect him to turn up now of all times.

Snotlout faced his cousin in annoyance, "Hiccup, what are you doing…?"

"Hazaga!"

With one word, she sprang her trap.

A wave of heat flooded over Snotlout, Hiccup and Toothless, engulfing them all. Snotlout spun to face her, "Heather!?"

She smirked, "Don't worry, this spell only weakens you with heat, draining your strength until you fall unconscious."

Already, Hiccup had fallen to his knees, and he swiftly passed out, Toothless close behind. Snotlout, being naturally more resistant to magic, lasted a little longer, but he too was rapidly succumbing to the spell. He slowly collapsed onto his back, staring up at her.

"Heather?"

His eyes slipped closed and she sighed.

Just great, she'd been planning to get away with Snotlout before anyone realised her intentions, but Hiccup just had to show up as well. She eyed them both, her plan had been to fly off on Phoenix, but her summoning could only carry her and Snotlout, not a spare and his pet as well.

She shrugged, it didn't make much of a difference, she didn't actually care if Hiccup told everyone about her powers, she only kept it a secret to maintain her façade. Also, she'd be far beyond the reach of Berk before he revived enough to tell everyone what happened, if they even believed him, there was no real problem here.

Course settled, and eager to go before any other unwanted guests arrived, she spoke firmly, "Phoenix."

In a rush of flames, a mighty bird wreathed in fire appeared. She easily picked Snotlout up with her beak and allowed Heather to climb onto her neck. Without delay, Phoenix took to the skies and flew to the horizon, leaving Berk far behind.

* * *

His mind fuzzy, Snotlout took some time to register his surroundings as he awoke.

Slowly, the sensation of being on a ship filtered through, pushing him to full wakefulness, helped along by Shiva.

" _Well now, this is a fine mess you've got yourself into. We all tried to warn you but no, you had to be a stupid teenage boy and fall for the blatantly obvious ploy._ "

Snotlout sighed, " _Okay, I get it. I was a complete muttonhead…as usual._ "

Ifrit seemed to pick up on his self-depreciating tone, " _Snotlout…_ "

" _Let's just try and get out of here._ " The boy cut him off.

Standing, he examined his surroundings, it was a blank wooden room, as expected, with a set of thick bars making up the door. Making his way over to them, he examined the door lock.

As far as he could tell, it would likely be blown off by a simple Fire spell, letting him out. However, if the motion of the room was any indication, he was on a ship so there was no way off it if they were at sea, even if he escaped his cell.

" _SNOTLOUT!_ "

The boy physically jumped as Hiccup's voice resounded in his head like a bell, collecting himself he answered, " _Hiccup?_ "

" _Finally, you've answered. Are you okay?_ "

" _Locked up in a cell, but other than that, I'm just fine._ "

" _Okay, whatever you do, do not do anything reckless. I know you have Ifrit and Shiva but remember that Heather knows that too. She'll have some counter-measure in place, just stay put until we get to you. Do you know where you are?_ "

" _Umm…a ship in the sea somewhere?_ "

A beat of silence.

" _Okay, we'll find you…somehow._ "

"Oi, Snotlout."

"A familiar voice cut over his conversation with Hiccup, and he glared through the bars at Heather.

For her part, she seemed unfazed, merely looking at him with disinterest, "Someone wants to speak to you."

She was accompanied by two burly men, who unlocked the door and grabbed his arms, he briefly considered using his powers but the girl halted that plan, "Don't bother trying to use magic, I know every spell you've mastered and I can easily counter them, plus, there's nowhere for you to go anyway since neither of your summonings can fly."

She turned away and walked down the ship's hold, Snotlout being pushed along behind her. They passed several cells, each one empty and making the boy wonder what they were for, until they came to an ornate door. Heather rapped smartly upon it, "Sir, I've brought him."

A voice called out from within, "Enter."

The girl confidently entered, and Snotlout was shoved after her, the two men remaining outside.

* * *

He stumbled into the cabin, door slamming behind him, and he quickly looked up to see Heather standing behind and to the side of another. Focusing there, Snotlout was expecting Savage, but was surprised to see a completely different man sat down, watching him intently.

The stranger gestured to a chair on the other side of the desk from him, "Please, take a seat."

Warily, Snotlout did as asked, trying to work out who the man was. He certainly didn't look like an Outcast, and he held himself as someone in charge, so he was unlikely to be a lackey of Savage. So, what did he want with him?

As he sat, the boy studied the stranger, spotting the mark on the back of his right hand, did this mean that the man was a summoner as well?

Once he was seated, the man leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk and smiling in an almost friendly manner.

"Now then, I apologise for your rather…forceful…invite, but I was quite keen to meet you for myself."

"Couldn't you have asked politely?"

Snotlout couldn't stop his sarcastic retort, perhaps he'd been spending too much time with Hiccup, and he cringed inside.

For his part, the man seemed unperturbed, he merely inclined his head, "Sadly, I have a bit of a history with Berk that makes me unwelcome there, even if it was fifteen years ago. This meant I couldn't exactly meet you through more usual channels, hence the need to send Heather to bring you to me."

He clasped his hands in front of him.

"I am Viggo Grimborn, and I have a lot I wish to discuss with you, Snotlout Jorgenson."

* * *

 _ **PS-Viggo returns, as Heather's current boss no less. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully spur myself to update quicker.**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello all and I'm back once again, this time far quicker than before. This chapter starts to move things along a little and a couple of curious alliances occur. Thank you all for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chapter 14**

Sneaking onto Outcast Island was hardly a good idea, but Hiccup thought it worth the risk.

After finally getting a response from Snotlout, he'd hoped his cousin would know where he'd been taken, making it far easier to mount a rescue. Unfortunately, that was not the case, leaving him to search the hard way, so he'd narrowed down his options.

The only people aware of Snotlout's powers were himself, Heather and Savage, therefore, it stood to reason that Savage was the one Heather had been working for. This made Outcast Island a good place to start his search.

Though he probably should've brought the others.

" _That may have been wise._ "

Shiva spoke quietly in his mind, but he responded with certainty, " _It would've been hard to keep everything a secret if I had brought them. I get the feeling that Heather won't care if others see her powers._ "

" _I know me and Ifrit have been agreeing with the idea of keeping this secret, but if other summoners are being this bold, then we may have to rethink that stance._ "

" _Let's just get Snotlout back first._ " Hiccup answered, " _Then we can worry about what to do from there._ "

" _Hiccup are you there?_ " Snotlout joined the conversation.

Hiccup immediately replied, " _Snotlout, how are you doing?_ "

" _Fine, for the moment, but there's something you need to know. Heather wasn't working for Savage, she was working for a guy called Viggo Grimborn._ "

" _What, I'm on Outcast Island right now!_ "

" _Well, there is apparently some sort of connection between them, a kind of agreement thing, though I think its about to fall apart. Either way, I don't think I'm even in the Archipelago anymore._ "

Hiccup frowned, that wasn't good, if Snotlout wasn't in the Archipelago, then it was now much harder to find him. He wouldn't know where to start without more information.

Toothless growled beside him, putting him on alert.

" _Hold on Snotlout! Someone's here!"_ Halting the conversation, Hiccup quickly scanned the area around them and was rewarded with the sighting of movement and focused there.

A mistake on his part.

From behind, a heavy chain net whirled towards them, accurately ensnaring Toothless and taking him out of action. Hiccup spun and beheld Savage coming out of hiding, chuckling darkly, "Nice try boy, now don't make this harder on yourself and come quietly to Alvin."

Hiccup's quick mind began turning, a plan forming in his mind, "Actually, you really don't want to take me to Alvin. Not if you want to get your hands on Snotlout's summonings."

Savage faltered, "What!?"

Hiccup knew he had his attention, "You know, the thing you're really after, to increase your own power beyond what Titan gives you."

" _Hiccup, what are you doing?_ " Shiva hissed in his mind.

" _Turning this situation to our advantage._ " He shot back.

The Outcast before him had frowned, "How do you known about Titan?"

"Snotlout told me." The boy responded, "Plus, I saw Titan myself when you last attacked Berk, and I think we can make a deal."

Savage laughed, "And what can you offer me?"

"Help in getting Snotlout away from Viggo Grimborn."

"Viggo! How does he have Snotlout!?"

Hiccup heard the alarm in Savage's voice, and he moved to capitalise on it, "He sent a girl called Heather, another summoner, to Berk. She tricked Snotlout and took him to Viggo, no doubt they already know about your attempts to take his summonings away."

"Dammit!" The man slammed his fist against a nearby rock, "If he get's that boy's power, then everything I've worked for is lost!"

"Which is why we'll help you take him back." Hiccup stated, "I'm guessing you can't use Outcast forces, so you'll be on your own. However, take me and Toothless with you, and you'll have a Night Fury to back you up."

"And how do I know you won't just destroy me when you get the chance." Savage snarled.

Hiccup answered calmly, "Simple, we need you to get to Viggo, we can't do that on our own and no one on Berk knows about Snotlout's powers, so we can't go to them for help. You're the only one I know of that can help me get my cousin back." He looked him in the eye, "I can't promise to let you try and take his summonings again, but I give you my word that I'll not try anything to deliberately harm you until we rescue Snotlout, and to try and help you achieve that rescue to the best of my ability."

Carefully, he held out his hand.

Savage eyed him suspiciously, as if to root out any deception, then took the offered hand, "Fine, I'll accept your offer, and I swear to not attempt anything upon you or Snotlout until he is safely out of Viggo's clutches."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, "That's an unexpected oath from you?"

The Outcast snorted, "I may want your cousin's power, but I want to keep that power from Viggo more."

They released hands and Savage nodded to the ensnared Toothless, "Now, help me free your dragon and let's get out of here before we're discovered.

* * *

"I am Viggo Grimborn, and I have a lot I wish to discuss with you, Snotlout Jorgenson."

Snotlout eyed the man warily, what was he after? Shiva and Ifrit maybe? Though he hadn't attempted to take them away from him the way Savage had.

His eyes drifted to the mark on Viggo's right hand, noting this, the man smiled, "Ah yes, I see you've noticed." He held his hand up, "I too am a summoner, my summoning goes by the name Carbuncle. He grants me a somewhat difficult branch of magic to use."

He glanced at Snotlout's bracers, that covered his own marks, "As you may have guessed, this is about your summonings, however, unlike Savage, I have no interest in taking them for myself."

Snotlout frowned, "You know Savage?"

"In a way, yes." Viggo leaned back, "We encountered each other some years ago, upon discovering the power we shared, we started to compete for supremacy. Eventually, we realised that our ongoing feud was only hindering our separate goals, so we came to an arrangement. However, Savage's recent actions risk the stability of that arrangement, which will certainly lead to trouble for many."

"How?"

"Summoners wield a lot of power Snotlout, I'm sure you could imagine how much damage two of them fighting at full power can cause."

Snotlout looked down, he hadn't thought of that before, he'd seen Savage cause landslides himself, and that was when the man wasn't aiming to kill him. He'd never considered how powerful his spells could become, how much damage could his fire and ice magic cause?

"Of course, not using our powers is sort of insulting our gift." Viggo added. He smiled at him, "Wouldn't you agree?"

"If you don't want my summonings, then what are you after?" Snotlout stared him down, "Why did you bring me here?"

"Simple. I want to extend an invitation for you to assist me."

"Huh?"

Viggo stood and turned away from him, hands clasped behind his back, "Unlike Savage, I am well aware of the rogue summonings entering our world." He glanced at Snotlout briefly, "I gather that you've already run into a couple yourself." He began to slowly pace, "These rogue summonings are clearly a sign of something else coming, a threat to all, if you will. A threat that must be dealt with."

"So, you want me to help 'defend the world'?" Snotlout folded his arms, "I'm not buying it."

" _Neither am I!_ " Ifrit added, " _Something is definitely up here._ "

Viggo merely chuckled, "Snotlout, I do not pretend that I'm anything remotely like a hero, but I believe that I'm astute enough to recognise danger when I see it. A threat to all is a threat to me, and that is enough of a reason to deal with that threat. I'm also wise enough to realise that a force capable of summoning berserk summonings for long periods of time is not something I can take on alone, hence asking for your assistance."

"And what happens to me, if I agree?" Snotlout watched Viggo carefully, the man said 'assistance' and he heard 'expendable', and therefore useless once his tasks were done.

The man sat back down, "Once our partnership is over, I return you to Berk where you can continue on with your life as before, there's no sense in murdering you just because the job is finished." He held up a hand as Snotlout went to speak once more, "Of course, I can't afford to return you home while this threat looms, so if you refuse, you'll have to remain with me until this mission is complete."

" _Basically, work with him or be a prisoner._ " Ifrit summed up.

" _And I'm sure he'll make sure I'll not be able to escape as well if I refuse._ " Snotlout responded mentally.

Viggo smiled once more, "Why don't you take some time to think it over." He gestured to Heather, "Show him to one of the cabins, and let him wander the rest of the ship freely." He looked to the boy, "Take a look around Snotlout, you can give me your answer tomorrow."

With only a nod to Viggo, Heather strode out the cabin, gesturing for Snotlout to follow.

* * *

Once they'd gone, Viggo leaned back in his chair.

" _So, do you think he'll help?_ "

Carbuncle's light, cheery voice echoed in his mind, causing Viggo to nod in response.

"Indeed, even if it is only to increase his chances of escaping _._ "

" _But why do you need him anyway._ " The spirit questioned, " _There are other summoners, better trained and more powerful than him, why that boy?_ "

"There's something about him that I cannot quite place. Though he is not powerful, he has two summonings junctioned, something that is almost unheard of. Also, I am curious as to how he can be a summoner in the first place."

" _What do you mean?_ "

"It shouldn't be possible for a Jorgenson to be a summoner." Viggo answered, "No matter the powers of one parent, any child of a Jorgenson will not inherit summoning, that is simply how it has been for generations."

" _I see, he shouldn't be a summoner because he's a Jorgenson._ "

"Indeed."

" _Perhaps his powers are in response to what is happening?_ "

"That is my thinking as well, hence why I want his assistance."

" _A bit of a gamble is it not?_ "

"There are always times to take a gamble, in any game. The key is to have alternative options if it does not pay off."

" _I see, I'm curious to see how this one turns out._ "

Viggo smiled.

"As am I."

* * *

 _ **PS-Hiccup and Savage are teaming up, Viggo has requested Snotlout's help, and mysteries are stirring. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


End file.
